A new beginning
by Catherine-PJO
Summary: Sequel to "After the End"! Follow Liam "LJ" Jackson and his friends through their adventures. Will we see the Prophecy expressed when Liam was just a baby materialize? Will he find his significant other? Will he make the right decision? Read inside R&R!
1. Coming Home

**The sequel to "After the End"! We were pretty fast, weren't we? We'll shut up and give you the chapter now :D**

**Chapter 1: Coming Home**

Almost twenty years have passed since the birth of one child divided the Gods. Nine of the twelve Olympians sided with the parents of that child. Three were on the other accompanied by other minor Gods. Zeus backed off and let the two demigods spend their time with their son in peace, even though he was anything BUT in favor of the child's life. Percy and Annabeth Jackson along with their friends spent those 20 years at camp teaching the younger, helping them and advising them on anything they might want.

Eight months after the great fight between the two sides, Clarisse Rodriguez and Jenny Stoll gave birth to their first child each. Owen Jason Rodriguez was born on November 10th followed by Abigail Grace Stoll on November 20th. Owen, having Clarisse and Chris as his parents, was pretty tall, had black hair and brown eyes like his father. That's what Abigail or Abby as we call her, loves about him most. His eyes. Abby on the other hand is blond like her mom, but had her father's black eyes. Those two have been together ever since they can remember themselves, which is long. A little over nineteen years to be exact.

The next two additions to this little family came a year and a half later with the births of Benjamin "Ben" James Rodriguez first and Alexandra "Alex" Sophia Jackson a few months later. Ben was a lot like his brother and father with the only difference being in his hair color, which was brown instead of black. His eyes were deep green like Clarisse's, his mother. As for Alex? My little sister is the exact opposite of me. While I look just like dad, but have mom's hair color, Alex is just like mom with dad's black hair. I am and always have been very protective of her, but ever since she and Ben became fifteen and started dating, my role as her protector was downsized a lot. Ben took it upon himself to be the one who looks after her, so dad and I had to back off a little.

The last two people to enter our lives were Michael Robert Di Angelo and Amanda Brooke Stoll, who were welcomed in this world four years after my birth with an age difference of two months and Mike coming first. Mike was just like Nico with Thalia's blue eyes. He liked to be by himself, although he hung out with the rest of the group because of his girlfriend and the youngest member of our family. Amanda has taken after her father, having his brown hair and general pose, but her eyes are exactly like Jenny's, mom's and Alex's. At the age of sixteen Mike and Amanda were already in love with each other (or so they said), much like Owen with Abby and Ben with Alex. I was the only one of the group that was single and that's the reason, I had decided to go to college for a couple of years. Just to see what it's like and what I would be missing out if I didn't go.

From the moment I could hold a sword in my hands I have been training. It's what I've done my whole life. Mastering the control of my powers infested by my father, exercising my mind so that it's as sharp as my mother's is, worked out so that I'm in my best physical condition and generally training. I have managed to become better than even my parents, which is one great accomplishment if one considers that they have been up against an immense number of monsters, titan and gods, but are still here. Despite being good at everything, I wanted more. So, when I became eighteen, I convinced my parents to let me go to college for a couple of years. I still wanted to spend my life at camp like they were, but I wanted to check things out before proceeding to stay at one place forever. You can blame my mother for having such an inquiring mind and passing it to me. Alex also had it, but she also had a reason to stay at camp. One I didn't.

So I spent the next almost two years at the University of Florida majoring in Architecture, something my mom and grandmother have been very proud about. The others were too, but the official architect of Olympus and the Goddess of wisdom were over the moon. A couple of months later, though, I started to get bored. I was better than my professors in every way, so there was nothing more to learn. I tried to balance my lack of interest by having an "adventurous" life out of the school, but even then I got bored after some time. So after three semesters of learning what I already knew from my mother, I dropped out and returned home. Or at least I was on my way home. After a three-hour train-ride, I was standing right outside the train station in New York. Nobody knew I was coming back. Or so I thought. I took my bag and headed to the familiar face of my uncle smiling.

"What are you doing here, Ares?" I asked giving him a tight hug.

"Well, who would pick you up if there is no one that knows you were coming back?" He asked returning the hug.

"Except the gods of course." I filled in. "How is my grandmother? How pissed is she with my decision?"

"Athena? She's not pissed. She is proud that her grandson found that he already knew everything they tried to teach him." He said patting my back.

"Wow, that's unexpected. Where is your bike?" I asked not being able to find it anywhere.

"Oh I'm not coming with you. I just managed to sneak your car out of the garage without your parents knowing." he said and I really didn't want to know what he did to manage that. I took a glance bend him and found my baby. My beautiful blue-silver Porsche 911 GT3, a gift from my grandfather when I turned 16.

"Well then, mind if I go?" I asked getting closer to my car.

"No, not at all. See you at dinner, champ!" He said and disappeared. I just shook my head smiling and got in the car having stuffed my luggage in the trunk. The moment I got in the car's cabin, I ran my hands over the steering wheel, the seats and everything. I had really missed my car. I hadn't been inside its cabin for 23 and a half months. Just two weeks and it would be two years. I checked to see if my sword and shield were in place and once I made sure of that I drove off.

What my sword and shield are? Both were crafted by one my uncles, Hephaestus. The sword, a special order of my grandparents, was crafted by Hephaestus himself. A sword of adamantane, a crystal clear silver material, capable of slicing anything into pieces. The handle was a blue with a trident carved on one side and an owl on the other. Its name? Achilles after the great hero. Its maker chose it, because the design was exactly like the hero's sword. The shield? Again it was made by Hephaestus, but this time it was a gift from Ares. The Ancile as he named it. A gift from the god of war to me. A blue and silver shield of adamantane like the sword that covered most of my body during combat. Hephaestus also made sure that I could carry them both without difficulty. So like my dad's sword, Riptide, which turned into a pen, Achilles turned into a ring, placed on my right hand, and Ancile into an armband which was around my left arm at all times.

Driving through the streets of New York once again brought back great memories of my life here, even though I've been away only for two years. Since no one was rushing me, I drove in a slow pace admiring the scenery I had missed so much. But half an hour into the drive and just a few minutes from home, I saw a wrecked car on the side of the road, so I stopped the car, got out and tried to find any survivors. No one was around, but I could hear the sound of a battle to the east in the woods, so I ran there twisting my ring so Achilles was ready in my hand.

I ran a few yards in the woods and there I found them. A teenage girl, who no doubt was a demigod, was fighting the Sphinx. But why would the sphinx be here? Before I could further argue with myself, the girl fell down and the monster was ready to tear her apart. Instinctively, I covered the few yards between me and the monster and pushed it away from her. The sphinx was as startled as the girl was, but quickly composed itself and attacked me screeching. I dodged it and managed to strike its hint leg infuriating it even more.

"Oh come on... it's a just a scratch." I taunted chuckling. It had been two years since I came up against a monster. Being a second-generation demigod, my scent wasn't as obvious which enabled me to pass by monsters without them realizing it and I used it in my benefit of course.

The sphinx turned around in the air, shot me a death glare and charged. I smiled and waited for it. Once it was close enough, I tried to avoid its nails, a little unsuccessfully might I add, and managed to mount it. I examined the wound on my upper left arm before scrunching my face.

"Now look what you did. You destroyed Alex's favourite shirt, which was also a gift." I said shaking my head before slicing its neck with Achilles. It dismembered into ashes like all monsters and I found myself "flying" towards a tree. The impact was strong and noisy. I fell down with a loud thud. Thankfully, there were no broken bones or anything, so I got up, turned my sword in a ring also wearing it and ran back to the girl.

"Why did you have to get in the way?" She asked when she saw me coming.

"Excuse me? I just saved your life." I said surprised.

"I was doing fine by myself." She answered getting the dirt off of her pants.

"So you call being on the ground with the nails of a sphinx ready to cut your throat, doing fine. I wonder what's it like when you are having a death experience." I said offering to help her up, but she pushed my hand away.

"I don't need your help. I can get up myself." She said trying to get up, but stumbled so I caught her. She straightened herself up and turned towards her car.

"Does the phrase 'thank you' exist in your vocabulary?" I asked catching up to her.

"Yes, but I only say it when the person deserves it and you were just in my way." She said and picked up the pace. This girl was getting on my nerves. Back in Florida I had no trouble getting women to do what I want, so what the hell was wrong with this chick? I decided to try a different approach.

"Can I at least have your name?" I asked with a slightest flirtatious tone.

"Why? Don't you have one?" She asked back in the most common of ways. But of course it was my fault for expressing the question that way. "No if you'll excuse me, I don't want to miss dinner."

"I can drive you back to camp. I'm headed there after all." I suggested and she stopped dead on her tracks. She seemed to be thinking about it and then turned to me.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"7:30. You will never make it at camp within thirty minutes by walking." I said after checking my watch.

"Well, then I might take you up on that offer." She said huffing.

"Follow me then." I said and lead us back to my car. "Are those your things?" I asked pointing to the bags next to the wrecked car.

"Yup. Is this your car?" She asked examining every detail.

"Yeah. A gift from my grandfather." I confirmed going to her car to pick her bags up. Once everything was in my trunk, we got in and I started driving.

"Thank you by the way." She said after a while.

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"What?" She asked curious.

"The phrase does in fact exist in your vocabulary!" I said chuckling and she smacked my head like mom or Alex often did.

"Ouch! That was one strong smack." I said.

"That's for being a jackass." She said and I rubbed the back of my scalp. We had arrive at camp and the moment we got in, she demanded that I let her out and I had no choice but to do what she said. "Thanks for the ride, jackass." She said before turning to leave, but I grabbed her hand.

"The name is Liam or LJ not jackass. And you are welcome mystery girl." I said smiling.

"Well, LJ you are a jackass and you should go get that arm checked." She said gesturing to the cut on my left arm.

"Thanks for the concern." I said and let go of her hand. She rolled her eyes before disappearing. "What the fuck?" I wondered and I heard her giggle, but couldn't see her. I sat there shocked for a few minutes, before finally composing myself and driving back to my family's home. It was already eight pm, which is why I found no one on my way back. I parked the car in the garage, took my bag upstairs and finally fully checked on my arm. It wasn't that bad, but when mom sees it, she will flip. I quickly took off my bloody shirt and put a bandage around the wound to somewhat stop the bleeding, before wearing another. I also took my contacts off and wore my glasses (yes, I have a little problem with my eyes), before running to the pavilion.

To say it was full was an understatement. After so many years and claims, we had to expand the "magical" borders in order to create more space for training, accommodations, leisure activities and everything. The pavilion had, of course, also undergone my mother's plans of expansion, so we could all fit in here. The Gods were the first to notice my coming and I could see the worried looks on my grandparents' faces, so with a move of my hands I reassured them that I was fine. My parents and Chiron though, were nowhere to be found.

Next to notice me were Owen, Ben and Mike who were sitting on the opposite side of Abby, my sister and Amanda. Since we were the only second generation demigods living at camp we had our own table, in which anyone we consider a friend could sit with us. I was right behind the girls' backs, which meant they couldn't see me, so I decided to come up behind them and scare them. I went behind my sister and wrapped my arms around her making her jump from her seat and smack my head like the mystery girl had done earlier.

"Ouch! What's with girls and smacking?" I asked rubbing my scalp again.

"LJ?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"Have I changed that much that you can't recognize your own brother?" I asked smiling. The girls squealed, got up and hugged me with all their strength, which cause a sharp pain in my arm. They seemed to notice my discomfort and pulled away.

"First of all, what happened to your arm?" Abby asked lifting my sleeve up so she could see the damage.

"Nothing important." I answered and brought it down. I knew the girls would freak, when they saw the wound, which would alert mom, which would bring me a nice, embarrassing and loud scold in front of everyone a little sooner than I hoped for. I went to the other side of the table and greeted my friends and brothers. "Wow! Where did you get all that muscle, Mike?" I asked hugging him.

"Working out like you did." He said flexing his new-found muscles.

"Man, you've all grown up so much..." I trailed off sitting down in my sister's seat as she sat in my lap.

"You have remained the same, though." Owen said nudging me.

"Guys, were are our parents?" I asked curious as to why no one was here.

"Chiron wanted to talk to them for some reason." Amanda said.

"Maybe he's telling them about your return." Ben said. That's when I saw the mystery girl come in the pavilion. She took a trail of food, approached the fire and threw some in looking up at the night sky. Alex saw who I was looking at, grabbed my chin and turned my head up so she could see me.

"Why are you looking at her, LJ?" She asked seriously.

"That girl is the reason for that." I said pointing to my arm. "Who is she?"

"She's our friend." Amanda simply answered.

"Any more info on her?" I pressed.

"Why? Are you interested big brother?" Alex asked me.

"Interested, no. Curious, yes." I answered although I don't know if what I said was true.

"Her name is Melanie Claire Carter and he is a daughter of Nyx." Owen answered as she approached the table.

"Ohhh, so you are a jackass and blind..." She said when she saw me. I just rolled my eyes and straightened my glasses.

"Mel, care to explain what is that on my brother's arm?" Alex asked.

"Wait... He is your brother?" Melanie asked in disbelief. But the next moment...

"LIAM KAI JACKSON, WHAT IN HADES NAME IS THAT ON YOUR ARM?" mom yelled and everyone cowered back in fear.

"Can't save you from that bro." Alex said before getting off of my lap quickly. I turned around and saw my mother standing there glaring at me with her hands on her hips.

"Hi...?" I wanted to say but it came out as a question.

"Don't 'Hi' me. What is that on your arm?" She asked getting closer.

"It's just a scratch mom." I said. Everyone on the pavilion was then laughing at me.

"Just a scratch? Get the bandage off then." She challenged. I looked at dad to see if he would save me from this, but even HE was afraid of Annabeth Jackson.

"Mrs Jackson, I believe I'm at fault for your son's injury." Melanie said standing up. Whoa, she was brave.

"Please call us by our first names and how is it your fault, Melanie?" My dad asked.

"When I was on my way here, I was attacked by the sphinx and if it wasn't for LJ, I probably wouldn't be here right now. He killed it saving me in the process." She said and I couldn't believe my ears. Just a few minutes ago she was denying it and now this?

"Again, how is it your fault?" My mom asked. "If he didn't play with the monster before killing it, no matter it was, he wouldn't get hurt. Isn't that right kids?" She asked and everyone cheered. Damn! Why do everyone have to know that I'm good? Melanie then stepped back and went to her cabin's table with her siblings.

"Will it help if I say that I won't do it again?" I asked.

"You know you will do it again. You are stubborn just like your parents." my grandmother said coming close.

"Then, will it help if I say that I'll try not to do it again?" I asked flashing them a smile I knew my mom couldn't resist. The same with my dad's.

"Get over here, idiot." She finally said opening her arms. I got up and went to hug her. "I've missed you, baby." She said in my ear.

"Me too, mom." I said in her hair. The rest of the people who knew me came to greet me, before we all sat down to continue with our meal. Quite an eventful way to come home.

**So now you've all (whoever did) read the first chapter of the sequel, we would like to give the appropriate credit to the people who deserve it:**

**First of all for the sequel's name, we would like to thank Meghan or **_NCISziva26_**_. _Also Abby's name was also an inspiration of her obsession with NCIS obviously.**

**Now some of the character names. We named the younger son of Clarisse and Chris, Ben because of one great real-life author, adviser, listener to the crap we say and friend. So Ben or **_citizen of the world _**that's for you. :D**

**Next, we named Percabeth's daughter after a crazy girl, who has supported us non-stop and we love. So Alex or **_hogwartsismydrug _**that's for you. :D**

**Last, Amanda's name was changed the last minute. Originally it would be Haley Brooke Stoll, but then a certain girl returned from vacation and reviewed three chapters at once reminding us how much she supports us, so we couldn't NOT change the name. So Amanda or **_Stinkyacorn _**we hope you like it. :D**

**Now for who would be Melanie's godly parent you have **_filmyfurry _**to thank for. We had absolutely no clue on that one until we saw our friend's suggestions.**

**The ones that were mentioned neither in the names or the other stuff, don't worry... It's only because we were unable to make the right connections to the story. We still love you! So Akai, Kayla, Sara and so many others we still love you!**

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	2. Whose side will you be on?

**Second chapter! Considering the reviews we got, it seems you liked the first chapter, so we tried and succeeded in the end to update again. We hope you will like this chapter as well. :)**

**Chapter 2: Whose side will you be on?**

**Liam's POV**

People from each and every cabin came to greet me. Even from Melanie's and later on she didn't join our group like she originally meant to. The thing is I don't know why it bothers me so much. I don't like her. Sure she is attractive, but I don't like her. Right? After the greetings took place, we could finally sit down and eat. My arm hurt like hell, but I couldn't admit that or mom would start yelling again, so I just prayed the day could be over so that I would go down the lake, have a swim and let my wounds heal. But for now I had to wait. The way we were sitting had changed. The three couples sat together and I was the only one alone.

"So big brother, how was the whole college experience?" Alex asked me sometime later.

"Boring. I'm surprised I stayed there for so long." I replied taking a bite.

"Why man? It is supposed to be fun." Ben said.

"What exactly is supposed to be fun? My knowledge has been greater than my professors since I was 12. They couldn't even draw a straight line and they taught? Come on..." I said.

"That comes with being a grandson of Athena, man. How about the parties?" Owen asked.

"Or the chicks?" Mike asked receiving a smack from Amanda. "That hurt, babe."

"Next time, think before you open that big mouth of yours." She told him and the rest of us couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, to answer your questions about the parties and the women, it was nice in the beginning, but after some time it became boring." I replied.

"How's Amy?" Abby asked leaning against Owen.

"She is good. She said she'll be here for mine and mom's birthday." I answered.

"Will she bring our cousin?" Alex asked excitedly.

"Probably. David is two months old now, so there is no reason not to bring him." I said.

"CAMPERS!" Chiron yelled catching everyone's attention. "It's time for some announcements. First of all, after Annabeth's little speech a few minutes ago, we have all realized that LJ is back, so even though we've said it already, Welcome back LJ!" He said clapping and looking at me.

"Thank you Chiron." I said raising my cup.

"Though, next time you fight a monster to either help another demigod or protect yourself, please try doing so without hurting yourself." He added looking at my mother. She probably put him up for it. "Next, by this time tomorrow, we will be having another capture the flag match. Leaders, this time, will be the cabins of Nyx and Ares. As always, LJ, Alex, Owen, Ben, Abby, Amanda and Mike, you can all decide which side you want to be on regardless the alliances. All weapons, magical items and the use of unique powers are allowed. Melanie and Ryan (leader of Are's cabin) choose your foes well. That is all I have to say, you can go back to your meals." He said and sat down.

"Why are we doing it so late? Won't we be unable to see anything?" I asked my friends confused.

"You may be blind, but we are not." Mike tried to joke, but no one but him laughed. We just stared at him. "Come on people! He is wearing glasses! When was it ever heard of a demigod, first or second generation, to have 2.5 degrees of myopia?"

"There is a first for everything." Abby backed me up straightening my glasses.

"Besides... he is cute with those on." Alex said smiling.

"Thanks, sis." I said also smiling. They went on without answering my question though.

"Who are we siding on, Al?" Ben asked bringing my sister close to him. Damn! I'll have to get used to seeing this again.

"Nyx. It's Melanie's first capture the flag match as a leader and we'll help her win, right guys?" She asked looking at the rest of us. While the rest agreed, I stayed silent.

"Aren't you going to help us in this?" Owen asked me raising his eye-brows.

"She hates me, so I don't think she wants me on her team." I said.

"Why would she hate you? You saved her life." Amanda pointed out.

"Yeah and she called me a jackass for that." I said pushing back my glasses.

"She tried to defend you against mom." Alex said pushing her index finger in my face.

"Come on, bro. You know that whichever side you'll be on, that team will win. She is our friend. Do it for us at least." Mike pleaded.

"Pretty, pretty please...?" Abby tried the whole batting her eyelashes move on me. She knew me all too well.

"Fine! But she has to ask me first. Stop looking at me like that." I said trying to avoid that cute face of Abby. "Gods, you are insufferable!"

"Love you too, big brother." She sticking her tongue out like a six-year-old, before wrapping her arms around Owen's neck.

"You always fall for that, bro." Ben pointed out chuckling.

"Who doesn't?" We asked joining in his chuckle. But soon Amanda stopped and looked at me with concern.

"Liam, you should go to the infirmary and get that checked. The wound is bleeding furiously." She said pointing at my arm.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Owen asked me.

"Well, now that you reminded me, yeah it does." I said and turned my head to check on my arm. Amanda was right. It was indeed bleeding furiously. "Don't worry Mandy. I'll just go for a swim if you don't mind." I said getting up.

"Of course we don't mind. Go heal yourself, so you are ready for tomorrow's match." Ben said as we bumped fists. Alex got up and hugged me.

"Good to have you back Liam." She said kissing my cheek.

"It's good to be back, Alex." I answered as the rest of the girls and boys followed my sister's example. Soon after I ran to the other side of the pavilion, kissed my mother's and aunts' cheeks and ran down the lake.

* * *

**Melanie's POV**

I can't believe I was so stupid. Not only did I yell at the camp's legend, but I also called him a jackass more than once. Not that he is not. In my opinion, of course, because everyone else seems to love him. Even my siblings. They were few of the first to run and welcome him back. The moment I saw Alex's brother leave the pavilion, I took my trail of food and went to their table sitting right next to Ben and Alex.

"Hi, Melanie." Alex said smiling.

"How come I've never seen a picture of your brother?" I asked her. "You always brag about him."

"He doesn't like being taken pictures and the ones I have taken are supposed to be secret. If he finds out he'll burn them." She answered.

"But why are you asking?" Abby asked getting behind me. Amanda came to the other side so I was cornered.

"Because I didn't know who he was and have been insulting him ever since I met him." I answered.

"Are you sure it's not because you are interested?" Mike asked raising his eye-brows.

"I've called him a jackass more than once. So, yeah I'm really interested." I said sarcastically.

"If you say so." Owen said snickering.

"For your information, LJ probably took it as a joke rather than a serious insult. So no need to worry." Why did Amanda's words seem comforting?

"True. He is a really cool guy. He won't easily hold grudges." Ben confirmed.

"Of course you'll have to see it for yourself as we are a little biased." Alex said smiling mischievously. Shit! I hate that look of hers.

"Change of subject. Are you ready for tomorrow's match?" Abby asked excitedly.

"I guess... Will you guys help me tomorrow?" I asked hopeful.

"You know it." Owen said winking.

"All of us will." Amanda said rubbing her hands in sign of preparation.

"Why don't you go ask if my brother will also side with you?" Alex suggested snickering.

"Why? We can do this without him, cant we?" I asked cheerful, but they looked at me like I was crazy. "Did I say anything wrong?"

"Wrong? No. Crazy? Yes." Mike said.

"Do you have any idea how powerful he is?" Owen asked.

"His control over the water, his sharp mind, his physical strength etc... are unchallengeable." Abby continued.

"Not to mention his weapons..." Amanda filled in.

"He is better than Percy and Annabeth combined. He has all their traits and more." Ben added.

"Yeah, but Alex, you have all that too. Well except the weapons." I said as she shook her head.

"I may have the potential, but I haven't trained as much as he has. He has mastered each and every of his attributes in levels I haven't. If he puts his head in the game, he is unbeatable." She said and put a hand on my shoulder. "If you want to win, you have to not have him as your opponent. And since he will be participating, I suggest you go ask him right now, before Ryan does." She said patting my back. I huffed before getting up.

"Fine! Do you know where I can find him?" I asked.

"Down the lake!" They said in unison snickering and pointing behind me. I turned around, gulped and walked towards the creek.

As I walked through the pavilion with destination the other side and eventually the lake, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. Especially Percy's and Annabeth's. When I turned my head to look at them, they smiled at me like they always have done. But this time their smile showed more. I couldn't place it, but there was different about them. Probably, happiness that their son is back. I didn't duel on it further as I had already walked away from the pavilion.

It was already pretty dark outside, which meant that I could use to the fullest my mother's power of disguise. It wasn't something I did, because I wanted to hide, although it did come useful when I was up against monsters, I just loved being under the cover of the night. It's probably has something to do with my being a daughter of Nyx. So I did turn invisible and walked the rest of the way down to the lake. But Liam was nowhere to be found. Where would a hurt demigod go? I got my answer the next moment when I saw Liam Kai Jackson in all his glory resurface.

* * *

**Liam's POV**

Getting inside the water while I was hurt was the most delightful feeling I had felt in a long time. Nothing can or could ever be compared to fully submerging in the depths of a lake or sea. Due to what I posed as, which was a normal human, I couldn't stay underwater for more than a minute or else someone would realize that I'm not normal, so in Florida I had to be careful not to forget myself. But here I had no restrictions, so when I reached the beach I quickly stripped to my boxers and dove in.

My muscles immediately relaxed, the tension fading. The pain on my left arm lessening by the moment until there was no more. The only proof of my "play-time" with the sphinx was the little scar that the wound left behind. But that was nothing. I felt so rejuvenated I didn't care about anything else. Just that feeling of content. I don't know how long I stayed underwater. If it was a long or a short time, I have no clue, but after satisfying myself enough to hold on at least a day, I resurfaced only to find Melanie Claire Carter looking at me with...wait... was that lust? I may have seen wrong as I wasn't wearing my glasses. I shook my head from side to side spraying water everywhere, before heading to where I put my clothes.

"What are you looking at, mystery girl?" I asked raising one of my eye-brows. She cleared her throat before coming closer to me.

"I just can't believe your arm had healed already." She said staring at my arm. Was she telling the truth or was it a way of saving herself?

"Yeah, well, being a grandson of Poseidon has its perks." I said drying my boxers so I could get dressed. When that was done, I turned around... "So, who...?" But she wasn't there. "Where the hell did she go now?" I wondered aloud.

"I'm right here." She said and appeared in front of me startling me.

"Whoa..." I breathed taking a step back.

"Ooo...The great Liam Kai Jackson was startled?" She mocked.

"It happens. But since when am I great? I thought I was a jackass." I said putting on my shirt.

"You are... but according to everyone at camp you are also great." She answered sitting down.

"So, you haven't changed your opinion about me yet?" I asked wrapping Ancile around my arm.

"Nope." She said closing her eyes. I tried to find my glasses, but they weren't where I had put them. She has got to be kidding me.

"Taking my glasses was very funny. Now give them back." I said extending my hand expectantly.

"I didn't do anything." She said innocently, but fooling a grandson of the goddess of wisdom is almost impossible.

"Are you forgetting who you are talking to? I'm not like Owen, Ben or Mike. Unfortunately, my mind is much sharper than theirs, which enables me to see things you wish I didn't." I answered waiting for her to give me the damn glasses.

"Ohhh yeah? Like what?" She challenged getting up to stand right in front of me. Our mouths were inches apart from each other. I could feel her breath against my lips.

"Like your blush when I got out of the water. I bet you were admiring my nice body." I said and stepped back. Wheat I said seemed to infuriate her...

"You are so full of yourself..." She said shaking her head.

"Who are you to tell me what I am or not? I save your life, you call me a jackass. I'm in trouble with my mother, you try to take the blame. What is wrong with you?" I yelled.

"I just don't like arrogant jerk like yourself. Here I was trying to make amends by asking your help tomorrow and you yell at me. So what the hell is wrong with YOU?" She yelled back pushing my "eyes" against my chest before storming away. When she was out of sight, I put my glasses in my pocket and my anger went over the top. My whole body was surrounded by water allowing everyone to see how pissed I was. Who does she think she is? Why do I even care if I made a good impression on her? And why the hell was I checking her out as she walked away? My life was just fine up until a few hours ago when I found her wrecked car. Why did she have to ruin my peace?

I walked back into the pavilion and everyone's eyes were glued on me while many gasps were heard from the people that didn't know me. Alex and my parents got up, but with a move of my hands I signaled them to sit back down. But Alex, Abby and Amanda motioned Ben, Owen and Mike to follow after me. They nodded and caught up with me as I made my way back home. They kept their distance though, knowing all too well that if I burst the could easily get hurt.

"What happened, bro?" Ben asked me as he came to stand in front of me.

"Your friend. That's what happened." I said and pushed him out of the way.

"Melanie? What did she do?" Owen asked confused. I could feel the water around me grow in size as my anger level kept rising.

"She exists! How can she judge me before she even tries to get to know me? Since when am I an arrogant jerk?..." I would've kept on but I felt a sharp pain in my leg. Something like lightning. Like when Aunt Thalia used to bring me back to my senses when I threw a tantrum. I turned around and saw Mike glaring at me.

"You are not an arrogant jerk, but you sure act like one right now." He said and that moment I realized how much the had all grown in the two years of my being away. In those few moments I took to make that realization, I calmed down and so did the water around me.

"That's better. Now why don't you tell us what happened?" Ben suggested as they dragged me to my house. I waited until we were in my bedroom to talk.

"She is insufferable." I simply said and they laughed at me.

"Okay, how about you tell us something we don't know?" Mike suggested.

"Yeah, for example what happened on the beach?" Owen asked.

"Well, I was simply taking a swim and when I decided to get out she was standing there blushing and looking at me. I got dressed and when I turned around she wasn't there. Like she disappeared or something. The same thing happened when I dropped her off at the Camp's entrance. I could sense her there but couldn't see her." I said trying to process it.

"Ummm... what's clouding your mind, LJ?" Mike asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked him back.

"Whose daughter is she, Liam?" Ben questioned.

"You said her mother is Nyx..." I trailed off as realization hit me. "How didn't I think of that?"

"YOU tell US." Owen said. "But tell us the rest first."

"After she reappeared, some words were exchanged until I found that she had taken my glasses. You know how mad I get when people take my things, so I grew a little cold and demanded that she give them back. She acted all innocent, so between others I told her that I can see little details she would wish I didn't. She got up and asked me to tell her something. I told her that I had seen her blush and that she was totally checking me out, she got mad and the next thing we are yelling at each other." I finished.

"So does that mean that you are siding with Are's tomorrow?" Mike asked.

"From everything he said, that's what you are interested in?" Ben asked in disbelief.

"Well I don't want to lose that match." The youngest guy in our group said.

"Well, I'll side with Ryan tomorrow, but you never know what could happen..." I trailed off.

"Yeah, right. Like there is a single person that can beat you." Owen scoffed.

"Alex has." I pointed out.

"She did, but when you were utterly distracted that time." Ben filled in.

"Whatever." I said nudging him.

"Well, we have to go to sleep, man. If we want to at least give you some competition we need to. But we'll talk about Mel tomorrow, okay?" Owen asked getting up.

"Sure, guys. I need to get some sleep too either way. So see you tomorrow at breakfast." I said hugging them all. "Thanks, bro." I said in Owen's ear.

"No need to, LJ. That's what brothers are for." He replied before they left. I tried not to think of today's events and tomorrow's match. But I was unsuccessful, because right when I took my glasses out of my pocket I saw Melanie's necklace with her beads. There were only two... I stared at it for a few minutes, before putting it on my nightstand with my "eyes" and lying down on my bed. My mind was filled with all the interaction between me and the mystery girl as I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

**What do you think? Good? Bad? Semi Good/Bad? Tell us in a review...**

**Love you guys!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	3. Capture the Flag

**Chapter 3: Capture the flag**

**Annabeth's POV**

Having my son back here at camp brought out a mixture of feelings. On the one hand, I was delighted, because I had missed him immensely the past two years, but it also brought some fear when I saw how much his interaction with Melanie had affected him. It reminded me of mine and Percy's first talks and arguments. Of course, Percy didn't have control over his powers so it wasn't so obvious to the outsiders, but we both knew that it affected us...

"What are you thinking about Wise Girl?" My lovely husband whispered in my ear wrapping his arms around me as I relaxed to his touch.

"Our son." I simply answered.

"He'll be fine. He is just pissed, don't worry." He answered kissing my temple.

"I'm not worried about his anger, but his future." I said pulling back to look at him. Our friends came together that moment.

"Why would you be?" Travis asked confused.

"It's because of Rachel's Prophecy, isn't it?" Jenny asked and I nodded.

"But why now?" Chris also asked.

"Just think about it for a second. When did Percy's problems start?" I asked them all.

"When I was twelve. He is twenty, Annabeth." Percy said.

"I wasn't referring to your age. What happened right before you went on your first quest and everything else followed?" I asked but none of them understood where my thoughts were going. "You met me, Seaweed Brain." I said and realization hit them.

"Melanie..." Clarisse breathed looking at her.

"The roles are a little changed but the main point remains the same. They hate each others' guts, but the way they look at each other holds something other than hate. They fought right away and tomorrow they'll probably be against each other at the match, which Liam will probably win." I continued.

"History repeating itself..." Jenny trailed off.

"We should tell him." Travis said.

"About the prophecy? Are you crazy? It'll be too much for him." I yelled catching the attention of our daughters who had stayed behind when the boys went after LJ. I saw Alex mouth a 'what happened', but I gave her a thumbs-up and turned to my friends. "We can't tell him."

"Annabeth, Travis is right. He has to know." Percy agreed. "Like I had to know."

"But..." Thalia cut me off then.

"You can't protect him from that Annabeth. He has to make that decision, no matter the outcome." She said putting a hand on my shoulder.

"His powers are immense and his will is strong, remember?" Nico asked smiling. "He can take it, Annabeth."

"If I could take the news of my supposed death, he can take this." Percy said bringing me close to his body.

"Let him enjoy his days here first and we'll tell him when the trouble starts, okay?" I suggested and they all nodded. "And not a word to the rest of them." I said looking at everyone closely with my index finger in their faces.

"Yes, mam'!" they all said in a military tone and we laughed. Gods, I hope we won't have to tell him for a long time.

* * *

**Next day**

**Liam's POV**

The next day I woke up to someone jumping on my back as I was lying on my stomach. I turned around and found none other than Aphrodite having fun. But I was used to that. She always did it.

"Do you seriously have to get back to waking me up like this?" I asked her rubbing my eyes.

"I wouldn't have if you had woken up on time. The capture the flag match starts in half an hour." She said and plopped down on my bed as I shot up.

"I'm going to kill him." I said and tried to get up but she pushed me back down.

"You are not going to do any killing today, LJ. Only some ass kicking in the match." She said.

"What gave him the right to put me to sleep for so long?" I asked getting up. This time she let me.

"The fact that you hadn't slept in two days. Besides I told Morpheus to put you to sleep." She said.

"How did my parents let you do it?" I asked putting on some shorts.

"I'm the goddess of love, honey. I have my charms." She said scoffing. "Now get your ass ready and win that thing."

"How come you are on Ares's side in this?" I asked her curious. She was supporting him and his cabin in everything BUT capture the flag.

"I'm not on his side. I'm on yours." She said kissing my cheek. "Now, my dear nephew, bring Nyx's flag home!" She said and left.

I shook my head smiling and put on a sleeveless shirt. It would be much more comfortable with all the sword swing that would soon happen. I also put on my contacts and was finally able to see clearly. I checked my right hand to see if Achilles was at place and then wrapped Ancile around my left arm. Last, I put Melanie's necklace in my pocket so I could give it to her later. Having done all that, I was ready to go. On my way out of the house, I grabbed an apple and then ran to the training ground where Chiron would soon give us the rules once again. I entered the training grounds where I found everyone there and even some of the gods. My parents smiled at me, but I could see there was something bothering them. I would have to ask them later though. My grandparents and Ares approached me when they saw me.

"Ready to win this kiddo?" The god of war asked bumping fists with me.

"Ares, stop calling my grandson kiddo." Athena said hugging me. "How is your arm, Liam?"

"He is fine Athena. A swim in the sea and he was fine." Poseidon answered for me hugging me tight.

"I'm ready for the match, uncle and like grandpa said I'm fine, grandma. I hope you are not disappointed in me for dropping out." I said smiling weakly.

"It was a little difficult to digest, but I could never be disappointed in you LJ. None of us could." She said, but I had an objection.

"I can think of at least one God that can and is." I said.

"Let's rephrase it then. None of the nine who defended you can." Ares said.

"Will you ever tell me why I got you to divide?" I asked. I had heard the story of the great fight that erupted when I was two days old, about how my dad fought Zeus, how Hades transferred my mother, Jenny, Clarisse, Amy and myself to the Underworld and let us stay with Persephone and how Zeus backed off in the end, but they never told me what brought that on.

"At some point we'll have to." Athena said.

But for now go to your teacher. He'll give you the rules to the game once again." Poseidon said pushing me towards the crowd.

"Oh and LJ?" Athena called.

"Yes, grandma?" I asked turning to look at her.

"Don't show off..." She trailed off as the other two gods laughed.

"When do I ever, grandma?" I asked smiling and joined the "army" of Ares's cabin and their foes. When Ryan saw me, he approached me.

"You're on our side?" He asked shocked.

"Seems like it." I said adjusting my armband.

"But your sister and your friends sided with Nyx." One of Ares's kids pointed out.

"Yeah, well I decided to make it a fair and even game by joining you." I told them.

"It's never an even game when you participate big brother." Alex said passing by with the rest of the crew, but I couldn't see Melanie anywhere. Focus LJ! Focus! Why do I care?

"It's as even as it can get, Alex." I replied smirking and she stuck her tongue out as I smiled. Chiron then started clapping trying to catch everyone's attention.

"Campers, gather up." He said and we did as told. We also divided into two opposite lines to show what the teams were. "You all know the goal of this game, the name says it all. The rules are the same as always: you can use whatever weapon, magical item or powers you possess. No killing or serious injuries, just disarm your opponent or cut them lightly. We don't want you to get severely hurt after all. You all have five minutes to get to your flags and revise your strategies. Once the horn is heard, the game begins. Don't attempt to leave your posts before the horn is heard. Your teachers, the gods and myself will be on the look-out for anyone who cheats. Go forth now and good luck." We nodded and each team went its way. We were walking through the forest until we reached the red flag and Ryan stepped forward.

"Well, since LJ is now on our side, our whole strategy changes. So I suggest we all stay back here and guard our flag, as he makes his way to the other side of this forest getting their flag. Are you with me?" He asked and everyone cheered. "Are you okay with that LJ?"

"You're the boss. I just do what I'm told." I replied chuckling. "Does anyone have a spare sword?"

"Didn't you bring yours?" A son of Hermes asked trying to see my right hand.

"I did, but I thought I would use it a little later." I said smirking. They joined in the smirking and someone threw me a sword just as the horn was heard. "See you in a few boys and girls." I said and made my way to the other side of the woods.

I jogged though the woods with a water shield around my entire body. The campers that I found on my way were so scared at the sight that they didn't even try to fight me. They just passed by me heading to my team's flag. The moment I decided, or rather Melanie decided, that I could be on Ares's team, I knew that my sister and friends would do the same thing Ryan did only a little differently. They would make Melanie push everyone forward, but let the best stay behind, which meant Alex and the rest of the crew. On my way there I picked another sword of a fallen foe and began swinging them both getting used to how light they were comparing to mine. Half-way though...

"Show-off!" I heard Abby say on my right side.

"Where are the rest, big brother?" Alex asked in front of me with whirlpools around her arms.

"Like we don't know." Ben was on my left.

"Sent you forth, do their dirty work huh?" Amanda asked smiling.

"Can you see, LJ?" Mike asked smirking as lightning surged through him. He just won't stop teasing me about my myopia.

"How about a fair fight without tricks?" Owen suggested and the others nodded.

"Six on one? How is that fair?" I asked them.

"Well when that one is you, it's absolutely fair." Alex said and drew her sword.

"Okay, but Mike, don't call any skeletons forth. They are very annoying." I said and brought down my water shield.

"Don't worry. We've already made him swear not to." Amanda said.

"So be it." I said and waited for them.

They ran to me and started striking. Back-forth, back-forth... that how the swords I had in my hands kept going. I could block all their strikes with not a hint of difficulty. I knew how they fought and the way they were thinking. Sure, I have been away for two years, but no one can change the way they think in such a short time. I could predict where the next strike would be. I didn't need to see to know where the tips of their blades were. So instead of keeping my eyes open, I closed them and let myself feel and hear everything around me. I could even hear the gasps of many around us. A large group had gathered, probably the ones that had been eliminated.

Their strikes kept coming, but my focus was on their legs and how they moved. Amanda was the one with the weakest of footwork, so with a slight move of my left leg she fell on the ground taking Mike with her. That's when my attack began. I twisted my left hand, ducked to avoid Owen's sword and elbowed him and Ben in the gut. Their swords fell and I got behind them pushing my swords to their necks.

"I'm out..." they breathed and staggered away.

"Two down, four to go." I said smiling. "How's your butt, Amanda?"

"I landed on Mike so I'm fine." She answered throwing a dagger at me, which I easily pushed away with my weapons.

"That was mean." I said in child-like voice pouting.

"Sue me." She said and ran towards me. She really shouldn't have done that. As she ran, I waited. When she lifted her sword to strike, I also ran to her, knowing she wouldn't have the time to push the sword down to meet mine, and before she was able to stop running I just put my foot as an obstacle which she just couldn't avoid, so the next moment she fell flat on her stomach and I got behind her with my sword in the small of her back.

"I think humiliating you like this is better than suing you." I said nodding at myself.

"I'm out, but you'll pay for this, LJ." She said and I let her get up.

"Can't wait. Three down. Who's next?" I asked and Abby came forward. "I thought you would all charge."

"We couldn't beat you when there was six and you had your eyes closed. So what's the point in fighting you as a group. At least this way we can also train a little." Abby said approaching me.

"Fine by me." I said shrugging and threw one of the sword to the side.

We circled each other waiting for the other to make the first move. No one did for quite some time. She kept staring at my face, while I was watching the way her feet moved. Her footsteps were uneven and unsure. I knew where to strike just by looking at the way she moved around. She tried to keep her left side away from me, which meant that as a right-handed, her reverse was still weak. That's where her weak spot was and that's where I stroke. I ran to her changing sides as I ran and at the last minute thrust to her left. She did block it, but she didn't have the strength to push back so I easily grabbed her hands taking away her sword and put the tip of my blade on her neck.

"I hate that you know all our weak spots." She said.

"Even if I didn't, the way you moved around made clear to someone like me." I said. "Now, do you call it a match?"

"Yup. You win... again." She said pouting and turned to leave.

"Sorry, Abby..." I said just as some lightning passed right by the side of my head. "I thought you said no tricks." I told Mike.

"I thought together, we could beat you. Seems like we were both wrong." He replied smiling menacingly.

"You are sooo getting your ass kicked..." I said and let the water flow around me once again.

"Uh oh." He said gulping.

"You made your bed... now sleep in it." Alex said pushing him forward. He straightened himself up, grabbed his sword in both hands and electricity surrounded his arms.

"Still haven't managed to surround you whole body with electricity, huh?" I taunted.

"Shut up. I'm only sixteen." He said.

"I could do this..." I said gesturing to the water around me... "... by the time I was eleven."

"You have been training your entire life before going to college." He said as we circled each other like I had done with Abby not too long ago.

Wherever he or I stepped, a little spots of electricity or water respectively were left behind. Mike shot some lightning at me, but I dodged it. It was my turn to show him what I had, so I made a blast of water and threw it full-force to him. The ball was so large he could avoid it so it hit him. The moment the water touched him, I changed its form to a quite BIG human being and made it lift Mike off the ground. Then I turned him around and made my guy kick his ass a few times as I promised.

"Okay, okay, I'm out." Mike yelled after the fourth kick. I let the waterman dissolve and Mike walked away rubbing his backside as everyone else laughed their asses off.

"That was so not cool big brother." Alex said when Mike had joined the crowd.

"Like you didn't enjoy it." I said chuckling.

"That's not the point." She said giggling. "So, arrogant jerk, are you ready to kick my ass too?" She asked getting her sword ready.

"Always." I said.

"Just please, don't cut any of my hair off again." She pleaded fixing her ponytail. The last time we had a capture the flag match and we fought, I had "accidentally" cut a handful of her hair. Truthfully, it was her fault, but I wouldn't ever say that because she would smack me again.

"I'm not holding Achilles, am I? This thing can't do anything." I said raising the sword I had in my hand.

"Let's start then." She said and like me her body got surrounded by water.

"I see you've been practicing with dad." I commented.

"Well, my brother wasn't here so I had to turn somewhere." She said and the circling began.

Unlike the rest of them, Alex knew and appreciated the importance of one's footwork in battle, so just like me she didn't look at her opponent's face, but his/her feet. The problem with us, though, was that we were both perfect at this because of mom. She always gave us tips on how to move across a battlefield, so we couldn't find a weak spot on each other. Our minds and way of thinking were so much alike that we decided to "surprise" each other at the same time by shooting some water at each other. We both were thrown back by the two blasts earning some gasps from the crowd, but we quickly got up and charged.

Our swords collided with a booming sound, but we kept going strong. One would strike, the other blocked and struck back. Strike after strike, we kept going. I grew tired of our little game after a while, so I decided to end this, so I could go capture that flag effectively ending the match. Using the disarming move my dad once used on Zeus, her sword went flying to the side and mine went to her neck.

"I think..." I started and grabbed my chin pretending to think.. "... this is the end."

"With me it is. But you have one more camper to fight." She said smirking.

"Oh yeah? Who?" I asked curious.

"Melanie." She said as I lowered my sword.

"Now that you mentioned her... your little comment in the beginning was a strike below the belt." I said.

"We're not boxing here, so it is allowed. Besides, I know that's now what bothered you. You are just like mom in that matter." She said.

"Is it so bad that I don't like my thing to be taken away?" I asked as my anger levels started rising again.

"No, but you overreact." She answered. "Now, go to the final opponent. I'm really curious as to who will win this one." Melanie couldn't defeat the sphinx. What made Alex think that she would defeat me?

"See you in a few then." I said, kissed her cheek and ran towards the dark blue flag's position. After a couple of minutes of running, I finally found the flag. Since Melanie was nowhere to be found, she was probably turned invisible, a power all the children of Nyx had during the night. I closed my eyes again, since there was no point in having them open if she was invisible, and walked forward. Suddenly, my sword was pulled from my hands and I could hear her snicker.

"What happened, arrogant jerk? Can't see me?" She asked. I knew exactly where she was though.

"Don't need to. I know where you are." I said and shot some water in her direction. She shrieked when the water touched her. "Told you." I said chuckling.

"We'll see who has the last laugh." She said approaching. "You are weaponless and I'm not."

"Who said I'm weaponless?" I asked, twisted my ring and Achilles took its true form. Next I turned a little switch on my armband and Ancile was perfectly protecting me.

"How...?" She trailed off.

"Training all your life has its perks. The gods realized how much I try and rewarded me with these." I said and went her way.

"Let's see what you can do without seeing then." She said and I could hear her charge.

I didn't know her way of fighting so I needed to use my shield more than anything else. I could hear her footsteps realizing where she was, but not where her sword was. But soon, her fighting pattern was so obvious to me that I didn't need Ancile to defend myself. On one of my pushes, she took a few steps back and I turned my shield into an armband again.

"What are you doing?" She asked surprised.

"Now I know how you fight, there is no need to use the shield." I said and charged at her.

I struck, she blocked and pushed back. But as time went by she kept taking steps back until she reached a tree. With her back against the tree, she kept fighting. I opened my eyes and saw her there. It seems that sometime during our fight, she stopped using her power. I was supposed to end this, but I just couldn't stop looking at her eyes. Those blue eyes. A deep blue like the night sky. She used that moment of my distraction to push me back in vain, but her eyes were glued to mine as well. I shook my head trying to clear my head and closed my eyes again. I couldn't risk getting distracted again. With a twist of my hand, she was weaponless and beaten.

"Do you call it a match?" I asked opening my eyes again. She looked into my eyes for a few seconds before answering.

"Yeah." She surrendered. With a push, Achilles turned into a ring again and I wore it. I reached in my pocket and took out her necklace.

"When you almost broke my glasses yesterday, you accidentally gave me this too." I said giving it to her.

"I thought I had lost it. Thanks." She said but I walked away.

"Whatever." I said and took her flag off the ground raising it high in the night air as the kids from Ares's cabin and their foes cheered. "Let's go eat now. I'm starving." I said and everyone chuckled.

**What was the most hilarious moment of this chapter? I would go with Mike's ass kicking which also gave me a bruise because of Tony's fall. LOL**

**Love you guys!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	4. Aftermath

**Chapter 4: Aftermath**

**Liam's POV**

I gave Ryan the flag and let him and his team celebrate their victory. I didn't care about who won and who lost. I never did. Capture the flag was a way of training for me. The only thing that mattered was see what's it like to have to battle outside a training ground where your every move had to be perfect or your teachers would tell you how to do things. In the match, no one had any restrictions. We could use our powers and gifts to the fullest. Fighting the six most talented swordsmen at camp at once was something I had never done before, because we had never been divided like that. But as Abby said the day before: there is a first for everything.

I had another first in that match. When I had cornered Melanie and opened my eyes, I just couldn't finish it. I couldn't bring myself to hurt her. Even when I closed my eyes, I couldn't. Something in those deep blue eyes took my breath and will to finish the game away. The truth is all I wanted to do when I locked eyes with her was kiss her, but since she considers me a jackass and an arrogant jerk, I didn't even try to. There was no point in the whole witnessing my rejection.

I gave her the necklace back, she thanked me and after changing, I went back to the pavilion, because I was starving. I hadn't eaten for a whole day thank to a certain Goddess, after all. My friends and I sat down in our usual table as the place started to fill. Every camper passed by us congratulating me for the outstanding performance and mocking Mike mostly for his hilarious ass-kicking. After everyone gather in the pavilion, the seven of us took a trail of food and sat back down while the others also went to make an offering. That's when mom approached our table.

"I think your grandmother told you not to show off." She said looking straight at me. She was smiling so she wasn't mad.

"Oh come on mom. I haven't done this in two years, how can you blame me for making it a little more interesting?" I asked pouting and the others laughed.

"Let him be mom. It's not like his actions hurt anybody." Alex backed me up.

"Yeah, tell that to my butt." Mike said rubbing his backside again and we laughed.

"You tried to chop my head off with your lightning. What did you expect? That I would let you off the hook so easily?" I asked him standing up. That moment both him and I were hit by lightning.

"Ouch!" We both said in unison.

"The match has finished so stop fighting unless you want some more of that." Thalia said coming up behind mom. "Nice performance, LJ."

"Thanks Aunt Thalia." I said taking a bite.

"And baby, you totally deserved it." She said looking at Mike.

"You are on his side?" He asked in disbelief. "Why couldn't I be the first born?" He wondered and we all laughed.

"Hey champ, catch!" I heard my dad say before he threw me something. It was my glasses' case along with the ones for my contacts. Everyone in our family knew that I hated wearing those things and preferred going around with glasses.

"Thanks dad. You're a life savior." I said removing the contacts and placing them in the cases. After I concluded the entire "eyes changing", from contact to glasses, my parents and Thalia went to join the others leaving us by ourselves. When they did, though, I saw Melanie enter the pavilion and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She had dried her hair, after I had thrown a water-ball at her, changed into fresh clothes and everything like the rest of us.

"You should talk to her." Owen said bringing me out of my daze.

"Talk to her about what?" I asked.

"I think you know exactly about what." Amanda said.

"We all saw you Liam. You would never have backed out. Yet when you looked into her eyes you both stayed like that for a whole minute." Alex filled in. Was it a whole minute?

"Yes it was a whole minute." Ben answered my thoughts. Seems like I had expressed them.

"She's coming." Abby warned and we all took a bite. It was something we always did when we didn't want the one approaching to know what we were talking about.

"Hey guys, mind if I sit with you?" She asked looking at me. The others also looked at me expectantly.

"Not at all. I'm finished either way. Talk to you later guys." I said getting up.

"You don't have to leave because I came here. I can go." She said grabbing my arm.

"No need to. Like I said, I'm done." I said rather coldly and walked down towards the beach again.

It was the one place I felt safe. Near the water. I took my shoes off and started walking along the shore-line with my eyes closed. I didn't need to keep them open, because I knew the beach like my the back of my hand. I always spent time here. I have many times trained here, either alone, my friends or even Ares himself. It's here where my dad and grandfather taught me how to wield the water. It was my hiding spot if you will. Whenever I needed a break from life, I would come here.

I sat down at some point and just dug my feet in the sand. But a few minutes later someone disturbed my peace by sitting next to me. When I opened my eyes I didn't see anyone, so there was only one option as to who would follow me out here and be invisible.

"Why did you come this time? I thought we already cleared that I'm an arrogant jerk and a jackass." I said not sitting up and she reappeared.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for taking your glasses. I didn't know that you are so..." She started but I cut her off sitting up.

"What am I now?" I asked getting angrier by the second.

"Relax... I was just referring to the fact that you don't like it when people take your things." She said lifting her hands up.

"Oh..." was my clever answer before I lied back down.

"You were pretty good today. Everyone is talking about how you fought all six of your friends at the same time." She tried to start a conversation.

"Yeah, well they always do that when I do something new and unbelievable to them." I said casually.

"How can you fight with your eyes closed?" She asked looking down at me after a few minutes.

"When you are blind you have to develop your other senses." I said and she laughed.

"Sorry for that one too." She said. "But seriously, how do you do it?"

"Well, there had been many times in my childhood when I would lose my contacts during training and because I didn't want to stop, I would try to fight without seeing clearly, so you can imagine where that got me..." I trailed off.

"Getting your ass kicked?" She asked.

"Pretty much. So Artemis offered to help me with that. She taught me to feel everything around me and hear everything. She would practice with me until I masted my technique." I answered shrugging.

"So you have had the gods helping you a lot right?" She asked.

"I guess. If only I knew why..." I trailed off. "What's your story?" Since she was actually talking to me rather than yelling, I wanted to take advantage of it and learn as much as possible about her.

"It's really boring..." She said.

"More boring than mine? Don't think so..." I said sitting up.

"You really want to know?" She asked me and I nodded. "Well, after I was born, my dad was offered a job in Europe and he took it, so we moved to Spain. Monsters kept coming and everything even though I was so far away from the US, so I had to fight them back alone. My mom rarely visited due to her busy schedule and I couldn't come here at camp, because of my dad's finances, so I started saving. Little did I know that I would soon need the money I had raised. My dad died when I became 16 on the 1rst of March and I decided to come here. Right after his funeral, I took my things and flew here. My mom helped me find the camp and your friends and sister were the ones to find me. They took it upon themselves to protect me and teach me the ropes as I had no idea of any battle strategies or could control my power." I cut her off then.

"If you had no battle training or knowledge how did you fight the monsters?" I asked curious.

"Pure instinct I guess. Anyway, ever since that day I'm staying here." She finished.

"I'm sorry for your dad." I said looking down.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault, but a drunken driver's." She said.

"You said that you have stayed at camp the past two years. What where you doing outside camp then? And whose car was the one you wrecked?" I asked.

"After two years of being back to the US, I finally gathered up the courage to go visit my dad's sister in Vermont. One of my brothers offered to give me his car and I took the chance." She answered. "Why did you drop out?"

"I got bored. I didn't see any point in staying there when I already knew everything my professors were trying to teach. My mom had already made sure that my knowledge was complete or at least at a very good extent." I replied looking straight in her eyes. I decide to start asking silly questions just to keep the conversation going. "What's your favourite color?" I asked and she laughed.

"Are you seriously asking me that? We were ready to kill each other not too long ago and now you're interested in my favourites?" She asked back.

"I guess I am." I answered smiling.

"Okay... Dark blue. Yours?" She asked.

"Blue in general and silver. How come you trusted me with the story of your dad?" I asked.

"I don't know. I just felt like I could. Why have you trained your whole life?" She asked.

"I didn't have anything better to do. The rest have always had each other, but I was the only one alone. Besides, all nine of the gods that like me have pushed me to my limits. In order to be in a satisfying level and not disappoint them, I had to train." I answered. "Favourite flower?"

"Blue lilies." She answered but didn't ask a question of her own.

"Why did you follow me here?" I decided to ask since she didn't talk any further.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry for my attitude." She answered as our eyes were glued to each other. "Also, I wanted to make amends with you, because I don't want to come in between you and your friends."

"What makes you think that you could come between me and the others?" I asked seriously.

"Well... first of all the girls told me that said that you would side with me and therefore them, if I just asked you, but all I did was yell at you. Not to mention today at dinner, when you left right when I came to sit with your group." She said.

"Nothing can get between siblings and that's what we think of each other. Even if parting us was your goal, you would fail." I said never breaking the eye contact. But she did.

"Do you come here often?" She asked getting up.

"Almost every day. You?" I asked back.

"Sometimes. But only during the night. It feels safer to walk around under the veil of night." She answered looking up in the sky.

"Only because Nyx is your mother." I said also getting up and walked to her.

"The same with you and water huh?" She turned around and fell into my arms as I caught her. "Thanks..." She said looking up, but didn't remove herself from my arms.

"Don't mention it." I said and went to straighten her up, but she brought her hand up and took my glasses off gently. "Why did you..." I was cut off by her lips.

She had crashed her lips to mine also pushing her hand in my hair to pull me close to her. I felt a tingle flutter through my body from my lips to my fingertips. My tingling fingers needed to touch something so I took a firmer grasp of her waist. Suddenly our kissing lips turned into mouths kissing, our tongues mingling and tickling. Yes, her tongue tickled mine. And this tickle didn't make me laugh, it made me want to whimper and I just couldn't help it. Then her hand she had in my hair slid to my face, her palm rounding my cheek and she pulled me closer, kissing me deeper. The pull was so forceful that I took a step toward her. With my hands at her waist, holding on, and I felt her inhale. I held her so close our chests were touching. I could actually feel our hearts beating out different rhythms against each other as we kissed. Suddenly the tickling and tingling and fluttering turned into something stronger. Something more demanding and almost uncontrollable. But everything soon ended because she pulled away and put my glasses back on.

"Ummm...I'm sorry..." She trailed off with her fingers on her lips before storming away. I just stood there unable to make a single move. She kissed me... Or better yet, we totally made out. And she left. But why? And why didn't I prevent her from leaving?

"Liam...?" someone yelled shaking me. When my eyes refocused I saw Apollo standing in front of me with his hands on my shoulders.

"Huh?" I breathed shaking my head.

"What happened to you, man?" He asked when he saw that I was back to myself.

"I... she..." I couldn't form a coherent thought, let alone a sentence.

"She kissed you, I know. But why are you so... dazzled?" he asked.

"I don't know..." I said licking my lips. They still held her taste. A mixture of mint and blueberry.

"You don't know? Man, she has quite an effect on you." He said patting my back.

"Oh shut up..." I said and nudged him.

"Nudging a god, boy?" He asked playfully.

"What are you going to do about it?" I challenged.

"Nothing." He said shrugging and we laughed. "Let's go back." He said and threw one of his arms over my shoulder like he had always done and we walked back to the pavilion where I found that most of the campers had gone to sleep. Only the older ones were still here. I made a quick scan of the crowd but I couldn't find Melanie anywhere.

"She's not here." Hermes said coming to my other side and mimicked Apollo's pose. They exchanged a weird look as we walked back to my table.

"What was that look about?" I asked them just before we reached our destination.

"What look?" Apollo asked innocently.

"Remember who you're talking to. I know you and something just happened. What is it?" I asked.

"It's not ours to tell." Hermes simply answered.

"Drop it for now, LJ." Apollo said as they went to the other gods, leaving me with my friends.

"What was that about?" Amanda asked jumping on my back.

"No idea..." I trailed off holding onto her, so she didn't fall off.

"Let's go home, guys. We all need to sleep after such a day." Owen said getting up.

"Carry me home?" Amanda whispered in my ear.

"Don't you think Mike will mind?" I asked playfully looking at him.

"As long as you don't try to steal my girl, I have no objection." He quickly reassured me.

"Let's go then." I said walking towards our homes.

"I'm next!" Alex and Abby yelled at the same time as we made our way back.

"Next for what?" Ben asked wrapping an arm around my sister's waist.

"For having Liam carry us on his back." Abby answered.

"I'm his sister. I should go first." Alex exclaimed.

"I am too!" Abby counterattacked.

"I'm his sister by blood though." Alex yelled.

"I've known him longer." Abby yelled back. Owen, Ben, Mike, Amanda and I were watching them chuckling.

"Only because your are older." My sister said sticking her tongue out.

Their fight continued until we reached our four houses and it would continue if we didn't stop them. In fact, we stopped them just as they drew their swords. To make it fair to both of them, I suggested they have a rock-paper-scissors match to three. In the beginning they looked at me funny, but when they realized I was serious they complied. Who won? Abby, who ended up soaking wet from my sister's water ball. After that was done, I went up to my room, checked my e-mails and went to bed. Sleep wouldn't come though. I don't know if it was because I had woken up in the afternoon or because I couldn't stop thinking about her. Maybe a mix of both... After hours of thinking of her, I finally managed to fall asleep.

**Looking at your reviews, it seems that you really like the action in the last chapter. We know this may be a little too fluffy, but chapters like that are needed from time to time. Right?**

**Love you all!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	5. The Gods and shutting him up

**Chapter 5: The Gods and shutting him up**

**Hermes's POV**

After Apollo and I led Liam back to his friends, we motioned the other seven gods who had defended his life almost twenty years ago to join us. They nodded and we all went down to the beach. Percy, Annabeth and their friends thankfully didn't follow us, so we had all the time in the world to talk. Artemis stepped forward.

"The time is nearing..." She said and we all understood where she was getting.

"But he is ready. He has had the best of trainers. We've all helped him develop to the fullest." Apollo said.

"Apollo is right. Didn't you see how easily he fought with the other six? All at once..." Hades said.

"Now that you mentioned it... seeing your grandson getting his ass kicked was hilarious..." Aphrodite pointed out and we all laughed.

"He shouldn't have come up against LJ." Hades confirmed chuckling.

"Back to the point. His training has been completed for years now, but what will he choose?" Ares asked.

"Annabeth and I have tried and eventually managed to expand his horizons in hope that he will choose right, but we can't know. It's entirely up to him." Athena said.

"Don't forget about Melanie..." I said.

"She is has quite a spell on him. Just one kiss and he stood there for a good fifteen minutes unable to move." Apollo who had witnessed the incident explained.

"Aphrodite, you have to work your magic here. Our lives depend on it." Poseidon said.

"There is nothing I can do, Poseidon. They are already attracted to each other..." She answered.

"Then give him tips to get this thing going. We already know what the future holds in store for them. It's better if they have them together by the time things get ugly." Hephaestus said.

"It's Liam, we are talking about here. He is probably the only one that doesn't need any advice and tips." The goddess of love replied.

"What can we do then?" Ares asked.

"It's simple. We have to wait and keep on training him, until his journey begins." Athena said looking away. She sure didn't like the fact that her grandson had such a heavy weight on his shoulders.

"What about the others? They will want to join him and you know it. Sure they are good, but..." Hades cut me off then.

"You know pretty well that they won't be so much needed. Melanie and Liam are the ones we have to focus on." He said and the others nodded.

"What about Nyx? She won't like the fact that her daughter has to be in this." Hephaestus said.

"History repeats itself Hephaestus. I didn't like Percy in the beginning, but look where we are now." Athena said.

"Let's hope you are right once again Athena, because Percy made the right choice in the end." Artemis said.

"Liam will too. We just have to have some faith in him." Apollo filled in for his sister.

"We all are. Now don't you think that Annabeth and Percy should tell him about the Prophecy?" Hades asked.

"They promised to tell him once the trouble begins." Aphrodite answered.

"It already has. The sphinx was outside the camp, probably looking for him, but bumped into Melanie. You know pretty well that Helios and Selene are on the move. They want revenge for their father's turn into gold." Artemis said.

"There is still some time, so let him enjoy this as long as it lasts. Those two can't enter the camp after our adjustments in the borders, so they are safe in here." Poseidon said.

"We can't keep him in here... You know how much he likes to get out of camp from time to time. What will you do to stop him?" Hades asked.

"We have to at least tell the others, so that they can keep him here." Artemis suggested and most of us nodded.

"Artemis is right. They also have to get ready even if their part is limited in this." I agreed.

"We'll talk with our children and try to get them to tell them." Athena reassured us huffing.

"What if Zeus gets in the way?" Hephaestus asked.

"He wouldn't. He knows that the entire thing is on his LJ's shoulders. He wouldn't try anything to endanger his own life." Poseidon said and Hades nodded.

"Let's go back. They must be wondering where we all are." Athena suggested and one by one we walked back to the pavilion.

* * *

**Two weeks later**

**Liam's POV**

She has been fucking AVOIDING me! After our full make-out session, she keeps avoiding me. Two weeks have passed and she hasn't talked to me or even look at me for that matter. Whenever I enter the training grounds and she is there, she looks away and when I try to approach her, she storms off. I thought I would be able to talk to her during dinner time, but even then she is nowhere to be found and that irritates me to no end.

But I've already made my moves and after today if she keeps on, I will enter that stupid cabin of Nyx and get her out myself. It's the first of March which is also her birthday as she told me that night. As a favor to me, Persephone convinced her mother, Demeter, to help me fill Melanie's entire room with blue lilies, which are her favourite flowers. Also on her nightstand there is a pendant with a dark blue sapphire in the shape of an M. If you do something, then you have to do it right.

Now, apart from Melanie's constant avoiding me, my friends' attitude towards me changed greatly. They would look at me like they were feeling pity for me, they wanted me to train then as much as I could, whenever I suggested we went to town for a drink or a movie they would find something else to do. They even offered to go pick up Melanie's pendant which I had specially ordered. It was like they wanted to keep me at camp no matter the cost. Moreover, they wouldn't even look at me in the eyes when they spoke. Not even my sister. They were hiding something... Just like my parents and the gods were. But I had other problems consuming my mind. How to get Melanie alone so I could talk to her.

"LIAM!" Alex yelled in my ear causing me to shoot up.

"What in Hades name...?" I trailed off trying to focus my eyes on her in vain. She put my glasses on and I could finally somewhat see her. I was still half-asleep after all.

"You have to get up. Today is the day!" She said excitedly. Of course my friends knew about the plans I had made. If I wouldn't tell them, who would I tell? I glanced at the clock on my nightstand and saw that it was only six. Alex has to be kidding me.

"She won't be up for another hour, so why did you wake me up now?" I asked rubbing my eyes under my glasses.

"Because you stink and you need to get this shaved." She said rubbing my scruffy chin.

"Someone had a great time last night..." I trailed off suggestively.

"Shut up..." She said throwing me a pillow, which I easily avoided. When she was at the door she turned around and looked at me embarrassed. "Is it that obvious?"

"From miles away." I answered smiling and got up stretching.

"And it seems like you were really enjoying you dream..." She said giggling and pointed at my crotch.

"What can I say? It's six in the morning." I said shrugging.

"Whatever, big brother. Go get ready..." She said and stormed out of the room. Just as I was about to go take a shower, though, Aphrodite appeared in front of me.

"I know... I stink and I need to shave. Anything else?" I asked her before she could repeat what my sister already had said.

"You sure need all that, but I wanted to say that I'm really proud of you." She said hugging me.

"What did you do?" I asked cautiously. She must have done something to treat me like this. Well now that I think about it, all seven of the Gods who defended me when I was a baby have treated me in a same-like way ever since I returned. That and pushing me beyond my limits.

"Nothing. I just felt the need to say this." She said.

"But why?" I asked pulling back.

"Because you are probably the only person I don't need to advise on the matter of love." She said proudly.

"Well, I've learned from the best, haven't I?" I asked winking.

"That you have, my sweet nephew. Go get ready. She won't know what hit her when she wakes up." She said kissing my forehead before disappearing again.

I walked out to the hallway, from where I could hear my father snoring in his and mom's bedroom, and got in the bathroom. After a quick shower and shave, I fixed my hair in a fauxhawk and went back to my room to choose my outfit for the day. Just a plain black t-shirt with a pair of equally black shorts. It was already 6:45 am, which meant I had only fifteen minutes to get dressed, put my glasses on and run to her cabin, so I hurriedly dressed and made my way down to the kitchen, where the moment I entered the room all six of my friends took a bite of their breakfast.

"For your information, I know that you are all hiding something, but I'm just too busy to try and figure out." I told them on my way out as they sat there dumbfounded. The whole camp was under the spell of Morpheus, but they would soon escape it and wake up. Morpheus was the reason I didn't encounter anyone on my way to Nyx's cabin. At least not any demigods. I had another "visit".

"Jackson..." I heard a voice behind me. Turning around I found none other than...

"My lady..." I bowed in front of Nyx respectfully.

"Quite an operation you pulled off in there." She said gesturing at her children's cabins.

"She deserves it." I simply said.

"That she does. But I certainly don't like the fact that you are the one providing it." She said back coldly.

"Have I ever done anything to displeasure you, my lady?" I asked curious as to why she wasn't fond of the fact that I liked her daughter a little bit too much.

"Not yet. But your future is something I want my daughter to have nothing to do with. Too much danger. The seven Olympians protected you from Zeus's fear twenty years ago, but if you choose wrong they will be proven wrong and everything will perish. But no matter how much I don't like it, Melanie is the one to let you in her life or not. I can only hope that she won't." She said and disappeared. What she said about my future confused me. But I would process that later, because many squeals could be heard from right behind me in the cabin of Nyx. I ran to the door and knocked. After a few short seconds, Linda, a now 17-year-old girl who had always had a crush on me, opened the door squealing.

"What happened Linda? Why are you squealing?" I asked pretending not to know a thing.

"Up... in... Melanie's room..." She said between squeals.

"May I?" I asked raising an eye-brow.

She just nodded and went to the other squealing teenagers. I walked up the stairs slowly so as not to make any sound, not that it would be heard in here but anyway, and finally reached Melanie's room. I had looked into mom's archives and found the designs to Nyx's cabin. Then I had made Alex tell me which exactly was Melanie's room so I didn't mix it up. Her door was ajar and when I peaked my head inside, I saw her admiring Demeter's work with the pendant in her hands. Blue lilies were everywhere. Their aroma filling the room. She touched the flowers one by one with a smile on her face. I let her enjoy it for a few minutes before silently knocking on her open door. She turned around and the surprise in her eyes was priceless.

"Happy birthday..." I said fully getting in the room since she didn't stop me.

"Did you do all this?" She asked looking around.

"I had some help." I said smiling and she went to close the door.

"This is yours too?" She asked lifting the pendant high in the air. I took it from her and pretended to be examining it.

"Well, it's an 'M' and my name is Liam, so no." I said. "Can I help you put this on?" She turned around and lifted her hair up.

"You know what I meant." She said sighing as I placed the necklace around her neck. When I was done, I lowered my head to her ear and...

"Yeah, it's from me." I whispered and I felt her shiver.

"Why did you get in all this trouble?" She asked trying to get away from me, but I wouldn't let her do it again. Not this time.

"Because I like you. Really REALLY like you." I said and pulled her to me turning her around in the process. "And I know for a fact that you like me too."

"I'm going to kill your sister." She said trembling.

"Well, she didn't tell me anything, but you now confirmed it." I said smiling at her.

"Then how?" She asked.

"I don't know... ohhh... how about the fact that you kissed me two weeks ago? Or the fact that you totally check me out every time I pass by you? Or maybe that you have been avoiding me ever since that kiss? Or..." I would've kept on, hadn't I been interrupted by her lips crashing down on mine again. It wasn't like our make-out on the beach, but it was still amazing.

"Many hints huh?" She asked pushing my glasses to my eyes and kissed the tip of my nose. Again I couldn't keep my head straight. Gods, what is she doing to me? "I see my way of shutting you up is really effective." I blinked a few times before I could finally think of the words I wanted to use.

"Too many hints... Especially for a mind like mine and yeah pretty effective." I said breathing hard.

"This is my best birthday in a long while. Thank you." She said burying her head in my chest.

"For what? I didn't do anything?" I said and my arms tightened around her, but after the words left my mouth she pulled back to look at me.

"Oh yeah? What about all this, the pendant and you?" She asked looking straight into my eyes.

"I had to do something to get you to talk to me. I have been going crazy for the past two weeks. I just couldn't stop thinking about our kiss and why you stormed off." I admitted.

"Well, halfway in our make-out I thought it was a mistake, so I pulled away and left. But when you didn't follow, I convinced myself that it indeed was a mistake and tried to avoid you. I didn't know..." I cut her off by putting a finger on her lips.

"You now do. What are you going to do about it, though?" I asked her and removed my finger.

"How about this?" She said and grabbed me by the shirt glaring. I raised my eye-brows in surprise and then she stepped back pulling me with her. As realization hit me, I smiled and let her drag me to her bed. When she fell taking me down with her, I waited for her to do her move. It was her game after all. She once again gently removed my glasses, put them to the side on her nightstand and turned back to me puling my head down to kiss me. That's how our second make-out session began.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

Just a few minutes ago my brother went to the cabin of Nyx, where Melanie would soon wake up and see all the blue lilies Demeter placed around her room. Next to her, on her nightstand, there is a necklace with a platinum chain and a 'M' shaped sapphire. A special order from Liam to her for her birthday. Although I should be ecstatic about their possible getting together, but after what our parents told me and the rest, I can't help being worried. They told us that the reason behind the division between the gods was a Prophecy that had to do with Liam. After I heard it, there was no more confusion over the reason why Zeus like everyone of us BUT Liam. He is afraid that my brother will make the wrong decision signaling the end of the gods' days.

"Stop thinking about the prophecy. Liam will make the right decision." Ben whispered in my ear.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" I asked him leaning into his touch.

"I know you, Al. I can feel how tensed you are and considering our recent news, it wasn't difficult to realize. Even if I'm not a grandson of Athena." He said smiling.

"Ben is right, Alex. We are going to be fine." Abby supported.

"We..." I gestured to the six of us.. "... are certainly going to be fine. You heard Hades. Our role is minimal comparing to theirs. But nothing reassures us that they are going to be fine too."

"Do you believe there is anything or anyone that can hurt our brother?" Owen asked.

"Yes and you all know what it is." I said and I could see in their expressions that they knew what I was talking about.

"THAT is not going to happen. He won't let it." Mike said pursing his lips in anger.

"Stop trying to calculate every possibility." Amanda instructed.

"You know I can't stop." I said looking down.

"All we must is have faith in him and Melanie. He won't let that happen, so they are going to be fine. Just believe that and ignore all other possibilities." She said lifting my chin up.

"How can you do that?" I whined.

"I may be a granddaughter of Athena, but I'm more like my dad rather than my mom. Unlike you and Abby." The youngest member of our group said winking and we all laughed. My parents chose that moment to descend the stairs and found us sitting around the table nervous to no end.

"What are you still doing here? Breakfast is being served as we speak." My mom said having looked at her watch.

"Sorry, aunt Annabeth. We hadn't realized it's been that long." Owen said getting up.

"We're going now, mom." I said and the rest of us followed Owen's example. The moment I got up, though, Ben lifted me up and placed me over his shoulder as I tried to get him to set me down. My parents were chuckling at the sight and I couldn't help but giggle at my boyfriend's childish behavior. "See you at the pavilion!" I yelled right before Ben walked out of the house. Halfway to the pavilion, after much pleading and a promise that he can have his way with me later, he let walk the rest of the way. When we got there, we found Liam sitting by himself with a sad expression on his face. That wasn't good... We all exchanged a quick look before rushing to our table and our brother.

"What happened man?" Ben asked first.

"She didn't even let me speak. She kept shutting me up." He said still having that sad look. That's when I saw Melanie walk in the pavilion. Abby, Amanda and I walked towards her pissed as hell.

"Since you like him, why did you blow him off?" I yelled.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Liam. Why did you blow him off?" Amanda asked.

"I didn't." She said and pulled us to our table where Owen, Ben and Mike were chuckling while Liam now had a smug look on his face. "Why did you say to them?"

"I just said that you didn't let me speak and that you kept shutting me up." He said casually and she giggled.

"Why exactly is this funny?" Abby asked.

"Well...because the reason he couldn't speak is the fact that we were making out." She answered still giggling. "You forgot your glasses by the way." She said sitting in my brother's lap and giving him his eyes.

"Oh...so that's why I couldn't see where I was going..." He trailed off putting them on.

"If you got together... why did you look sad just a few minutes ago?" Amanda asked.

"Because he missed her..." Mike said in a sappy voice and received a smack from me and Ben who were closer to him.

"Guys, stop smacking my boyfriend in the back of his head." Amanda whined getting closer to him.

"Thanks for defending me babe." Mike said.

"Don't thank me yet. That's where you should hit him." she said and slapped him.

"Babe!" Mike whined touching his cheek. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you either mocked my brother for something you many times have said yourself or ... all the times you said you missed me after a few minutes of being away, you were lying and that's even worse!" Amanda yelled and stormed off, while Mike looked for help in Abby.

"Don't look at me. She is my sister, so I back her up, and she is right." She said burying her face in the crook of Owen's neck.

"Like I told you in the last capture the flag: you made your bed and now you have to sleep in it." I told him sitting on Ben.

"I'd hurry if I were you." Ben said and Owen nodded.

"Okay, now back to you two. First of all, you are officially together right?" Abby asked and they nodded smiling.

"Now, how didn't you notice that you weren't wearing your glasses?" I asked my brother.

"Well, I had some other... stuff in my mind." He said chuckling. The pavilion had still to fill up, which meant no food for us, so we just sat in our table relaxing under our loved ones' touch until...

"I don't see you for two weeks and you already have a girl sitting in your lap?"

**Who do you think it will be? There is at least ONE person that knows, so why don't you tell us your guesses. Film, don't say it in the review. Let the ones that review take their guess!**

**WE ARE OFFICIALLY DONE WITH EXAMS AND WE ARE IN! **

**sorry... we had to get it our of our system.**

**Love you all**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	6. AMY!

**Chapter 6: AMY!**

**Liam's POV**

"I don't see you for two weeks and you already have a girl sitting in your lap?" I heard the familiar voice of my five years older aunt.

"AMY!" Alex, Abby and Melanie squealed when they turned around. They got up and ran to hug her, but she stopped them by encircling them with water. They looked really confused.

"I have a baby in my arms in case you didn't notice..." She trailed off lifting David up so they could see him ending their confusion. "John!" She called for her husband who was now greeting my parents. He was immediately by her side.

"You called honey?" He asked as Owen, Ben and chuckled.

"Yes. Can you please hold your son, so I can greet these three properly?" She said gesturing at the three girls trapped in the middle of the whirlpool she had created.

"Sure, Amy." He answered as she handed David to his father. John placed him in his arms in a way that he could see the rest of us and he started reaching for me, so I went to get up to greet him and John but...

"Don't you dare move your butt before I greet you, Liam Kai Jackson." She said walking to the girls and I sat back down. "Hey, birthday girl!" She squealed and hugged Melanie with all her might. I had no idea they knew each other. But then again, I hadn't been at camp for two years, while Amy often visited. At least before she got pregnant with David.

"It's nice to see you again, Amy." My girl said hugging her back right when my mother came to wrap her arms around my neck bending to whisper in my ear.

"Seeing that she is wearing the pendant and your smug grin, I take it she finally talked to you..." She trailed off suggestively.

"More than talked mom." I said and placed my hands on her arms rubbing. Amy was still greeting everyone, so I stay put for a little while longer.

"I can see that." She said and kissed a certain spot on my neck.

"She gave me a hickey?" I asked amused.

"Yeah, she did, but I don't think you have a problem with either the making of the mark or that she marked you." She said giggling.

"Not in the least bit." I said just as Amy came to us and mom removed herself from me. "Can I stand up now?"

"You can, LJ." She answered and waited.

"Hola mamasita." I said hugging her and she started laughing while John immediately scrunched his face.

"Come on. Stop reminding him of that. Do you know what it took me to get him to calm down?" She asked in between laughs.

"I'm sure you enjoyed it." I said joining in.

"What's the joke guys?" Alex asked obviously wanting in on the joke.

"When they dropped me off at the train station, they were waiting with me I had to get on board and there was this Spanish guy, who passing by our aunt spanked her saying those words." I said and they all gulped.

"Remember how Clarisse reacted last time we were here when that waitress started touching Chris?" Amy waited until they nodded. "That would happen if LJ didn't stop him." She finished rubbing her husband's chin.

"We just didn't like the fact that our spouses were groped, right little brother?" Clarisse asked hugging her brother and nephew.

"Mom, sending the girl to the hospital with a broken jaw, nose and Gods know how many other bones isn't 'just didn't like that fact'..." Owen pointed out.

"Well... she needed to fix that nose-job anyway." Clarisse said laughing and we joined.

"How's my little girl?" The god of the seas asked from behind me. Amy, who was still in my arms, turned us around to see him.

"Hey dad." She said smiling and went to him. "You know I'm fine, we talked right before we boarded the train here."

"You never know what can happen in a train ride." He said seriously frowning before flashing a smile. "LJ, Artemis is waiting for you at the beach for some training."

"Again? I haven't even eaten and you haven't let me rest since I returned." I said huffing while everyone except Melanie, Amy, John and of course David, frowned.

"You know she is not famous for her patience so I suggest you head over there right now." My grandfather urged me on. Of course I know that. My ear still hurts from the last time I was late for training with Artemis.

"Lord Poseidon, do you think she will mind I watch?" Melanie asked coming to me. Many looks were exchanged before the lord of the seas spoke.

"I don't think she will Melanie. You can go with him." He said smiling.

"At least that will make it a little easier..." I said and they all laughed at me. "What did I say?" I asked but they kept laughing.

"Nothing... Come on..." Melanie slipped her hand in mine and pulled me towards the beach.

We walked through the pavilion hand in hand receiving all kinds of looks. From the older female campers Melanie received glares and looks of complete envy, while I did the same from the male older campers. On her siblings' side, there was surprise mostly but there was also a slight hint of happiness for their sister. It was evident that the eight Gods who have always been by my side, Artemis was on the beach after all, were pleased with our relationship since they were grinning like fools (even HADES). Nyx kept glaring me like she had this morning but I shrugged it off. I had Melanie's hand in mine and the goddess couldn't do anything about it. Once we were out of the pavilion and the sight of all those kids, gods and whatever, I stopped us.

"Why did you stop?" She asked me confused.

"No reason..." I said and this time it was I that crashed my lips to hers. She was surprised, but unlike me she quickly composed herself and kissed me back. But just a few seconds in the kiss, she pulled away.

"So that's 'no reason'?" She asked smiling.

"Do I need a reason to kiss you?" I asked stealing another one.

"Yeah. At least one." She said expecting me to tell her the reason.

"How about because I'm crazy about you?" I asked smiling. She thought about it for a second, before...

"I think that will do." She said giggling. "But now, we have to go to the beach where Artemis is waiting,"

"Ugh... Do we really have to?" I asked looking away but she grabbed my head keeping me at place.

"You do. I'm just going to be there for support." She said and kissed me tenderly.

When she pulled away, I slipped my arm around her waist and we walked forward. Soon, we were arriving at the beach where Artemis was waiting for us with three of her huntresses. But not just any huntresses. They were the best she had. Surprisingly, just like the rest of my teachers and protectors, Artemis also wore a foolish grin. She didn't even seem to mind that we were late. As Melanie and I walked to her she approached us.

"I see his little plan worked." She said smiling at Melanie.

"According to the world, his plan never fail my Lady." Melanie said bowing in front of the goddess.

"No need to bow, daughter of Nyx. Especially you." Artemis said and again I was confused. Why especially her? "Are you ready LJ?"

"I'm tired, my muscles hurt as hell and all I want is to spend my time with Melanie. I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I answered stepping away from my girl.

"Glasses..." the goddess said pointing between her eyes.

"Oh right." I breathed and took them off giving them to Melanie.

"Um.. lady Artemis, would you mind if I stayed and watch your training?" She asked.

"As long as you don't distract him, I have absolutely no objection." Artemis said and turned to her huntresses. That is so fucking weird. Two years ago, Artemis and the rest of the Gods wouldn't even consider letting someone observe my training and now... "Are you just going to stand there goof?"

"Sorry, Artemis. Just about something." I said taking my t-shirt off. With a kiss to Melanie I followed the goddess.

"When don't you ever?" She asked rubbing my shoulder-blade. "Why are you so tense?"

"With the training I have undergone in the past two weeks, it's a miracle I'm still standing. You are all very pushy all of sudden." I said flexing my muscles in an attempt to relax.

"We just want to make sure you haven't gone soft..."

"Like that will ever happen..." I said unclasping Achilles.

"Girls, let's show him what the huntresses are made of!" Another training just began...

* * *

**Percy's POV**

Under any other circumstances, having both my children and my sister back at camp would be the perfect time. But with the Gods saying that the time is nearing and the two children of Hyperion on the move, I just can't relax and enjoy our time to the fullest. I may not express it, but I'm terribly worried about Liam, especially now after Annabeth's observation about history repeating itself and his attraction to Melanie. In mine and Annabeth's case, the romance evolved through the years and turned into a relationship after five years of friendship. Of course we were twelve when we met so our progression was slower, but still. After I met Annabeth, my trouble with the gods, the prophecies and everything began. We all think that now the same thing will happen with Liam, but we just have to wait.

After Liam and Melanie went for his training with Artemis, we decided to tell Amy about Liam's upcoming "trouble". One would expect that she would remember since she was five years old, but Annabeth and I have many times tested if she does. Since she doesn't, we decided to tell her like we had done with the rest of the children just a few days ago. Amy and John looked at us with a blank expression as we spoke. When we finished, Amy looked at us with wide eyes.

"Are you seriously telling me that you haven't told him already?" She yelled causing David to start crying. "John, take him outside. I have to talk some sense into these fools." John took David in his arms and without a question left the room. "Why haven't you told him?"

"Because we don't want him to feel stressed about it." Thalia said.

"Feel stressed? He is going to hate you for keeping this from him!" Amy yelled.

"We are his family Amy. He can't hate us." Clarisse said.

"Oh you're his family now? Aren't family members supposed to be honest with each other?" She asked standing up. Her anger kept building and it was obvious because the ground started moving.

"There are always some secrets." Nico backed us up even though he was in favor of telling him.

"Not this big, Nico. There is only one thing he hates more than someone messing with his things. That is being lied to." Amy said looking at us. "He is your son. You should know that."

"Of course we know that Amy. But we can't tel..." Annabeth started but my sister cut her off.

"Do you think that by not telling him the threat will disappear? Did Kronos disappear all those years none of you told my brother of his prophecy?" She asked and we all looked down knowing she was right.

"No, but it will give him some time without worries." Jenny said.

"If this continues it will also give him A LOT of time without a family. You know he will cut you off of his life if you continue this. It has to end." She said in determination.

"What do you expect us to do then?" I asked.

"Tell him." She simply answered.

"Would you tell David if he was in the same position?" Travis asked.

"Not in the beginning of his life, but yeah I would if I knew that there was even the slightest chance that he will walk away from me. If you haven't told him by the day of his birthday, I will do so the next morning." She said stormed out of the room and house. All eight of us sat there processing everything my little sister said.

"You know that I agree with her 100 per cent right? I just wanted to back you up." Nico said looking at me and Annabeth and we nodded.

"What if it's too late? Do you think he can hate us?" Annabeth asked turning to me with tears in her eyes.

"How can a 25-year-old be the reason in here and not us? We're 43 for Gods' sake." Clarisse said.

"Speak for yourself. Thalia and I are 39." Nico said to lighten up the mood. He was very successful considering we all started laughing.

**Seems like only one of you has been paying attention to the little details. If you don't remember (if = since) , let us remind you the first conversation in the second chapter. Abby asks Liam how Amy was. How would he know how she was if he hadn't seen her? Sidney congratulations for being so observant! (clap clap clap)**

**Anyway, we hope you liked the chapter even if it was a little short.**

**Love you all!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	7. Party and Sneaking out

**Chapter 7: Party and sneaking out**

**March 5th**

**Melanie's POV**

Everyone has been preparing today for today's event. Annabeth's and Liam's birthday. With Annabeth becoming 43 and my baby 20. We spent the four days between our birthdays together all the time. Either we would be cuddled, making out and stuff or we would be training. Him most though. The Gods did indeed push Liam a tad too hard, but my presence seemed to help him a little. After his training, we would go over to his house, where he would have a shower also getting changed and then we would talk about the most random of things, just getting to know each other better. And in the night... just before he walked me to my cabin we would spend half an hour lying on the beach and looking at night sky. My mother was probably around watching us, but I didn't and still don't give a damn.

But today it was different. Today, we all let him get some sleep or rather Morpheus forced him to sleep. So me and the rest of the crew had breakfast together and then went on to help with the decorations. I've come to hate the word "details" because of this. Every time something was just a little out of place, Annabeth, Jenny or Athena would come over our heads yelling: "Details people.. Details." But now at 5:30 pm, we were all through with the decorations and went back to the Jackson residency, before we had to get ourselves ready. All the girls had brought our dresses in the Rodriguez residency and we would get ourselves ready there, while the boys would stay here.

"When you said that Morpheus would put Liam to sleep for a little longer, I wasn't expecting that it would be SO long. The party starts in one and a half hour." I told Alex as we walked through her front door.

"Ummm... The Gods said that he needed it." She answered quickly looking away.

"What for? It's just a party?" I asked.

"It's just because they've been pushing him so hard. They thought that he could rest on his birthday." Abby filled in also looking away.

"If you say so...Ca I at least go wake him up now?" I pleaded batting my eye-lashes.

"You're totally whipped." Owen commented.

"I'm also proud of it." I said sticking my tongue out at him.

"I wasn't judging you. Just pointing it out." He said lifting his hands up innocently.

"Can I Alex?" I asked again.

"Of course you can. Just be prepared." She answered.

"For what?"

"You'll see when you go into his room. Just remember that you have to come with us next door in half an hour." She said smirking. I didn't understand a word of what she said, so I just shrugged and made my way upstairs to my baby's room. I very gently pushed the door open, went in and closed it again. When I turned around I finally realized what Alex meant. How can he do this to me?

There he was, lying on his stomach on his bed in nothing but a pair of blue boxers. He looked so hot and peaceful sleeping that I actually considered turning him around and having my way with him, but then I remembered Alex's words: "_you have to come with us next door in half an hour."_ What I wanted to do to him wouldn't last just half an hour though, so I stood at his door trying to compose myself enough not to jump him right there and then. When I was sure that I wouldn't, I went over to him and...

"Liam..." I whispered in his ear and rubbed his shoulders, but he wouldn't budge.

As I kept rubbing, I noticed how tensed his back muscles were and decided to try and do something about it, so I climbed on his back, put my knees on either side of him and started massaging his shoulders. After a few minutes I also bent down and started nibbling on his ear. Soon, he started making some low, sexy noises of content. I think I even heard him purr. That moment I stopped my ministrations and he groaned.

"Why did you stop...?" He asked with sleep evident in his voice and I restarted massaging his tensed muscles.

"How long have you been up?" I whispered in his ear making him shiver.

"A couple of minutes. I just didn't want you to stop." He answered burying his face in the pillow.

"And why is that?" I asked in a low voice.

"Because there is not a single part of my body that is not in pain." He said against the fabric.

"I can think of at least one..." I trailed off suggestively.

"No... even that one is in pain with you here." He said.

"Maybe I should leave then..." I said not meaning it of course, but I got up anyway. Before I could even take a step, he turned to the side, grabbed my hand and pulled me down on his bed.

"Don't you dare even consider that." He said and I finally kissed him. "What time is it?"

"Half past five and we should get ready." I said kissing him again. But it lasted a little bit more that the other one.

"Yeah, but you still haven't wished me..." He whined pouting when we pulled apart.

"Happy birthday baby!" I exclaimed.

"That's better." He said before crashing his lips to mine.

My hands flew to his sexy, blond hair tugging on it a little receiving another groan from him. I tried to turn us over so I was on top, but we ended up on the floor. We didn't stop though. We just smiled against each other's lips and continued our act. Then I finally managed to turn us over, so I was sitting on top of him and I saw, or rather felt, exactly how painful my presence was to him.

I removed my lips from his only to attach them on the side of his neck sucking on his skin, which would definitely leave a mark, but he is mine so if anyone has a problem with that, it's theirs. My sucking earned me numerous groans, curses in Greek and his hands roaming all over my body until he rested them on my hips. I was thoroughly enjoying the effect I had on him and just to see how much more I can drive him crazy, I started grinding myself on him. Well, I did it only two times, because on the third he turned us over and got up leaving me all hot and sprawled out on the floor.

"I need a shower. A really, REALLY cold shower." He said breathing hard as I giggled. Just before he left the room...

"Wait!" I yelled and got up approaching him. "I would help you with that..." I said running my finger over his crotch as his breath caught up and he couldn't move... "... but I have to go to Ben's and Owen's house with the girls. Don't shave that off completely by the way..." I finished kissing his scruffy chin and walked out of the room.

"HOW CAN SHE DO THIS TO ME APHRODITE?" I heard him yell as I reached the kitchen and the rest of the crew.

"What did you do?" Amanda asked curious.

"Nothing..." I trailed off innocently.

"Come on! I've never seen or heard my brother so desperate." Alex said giggling.

"I didn't do anything like you said I shouldn't." I answered.

"Cut the crap Mel. You must have done something to cause him to react like that." Abby said while the guys were totally left out of the conversation.

"And I didn't tell you not to do anything. I just said that you should hurry." Alex filled in.

"Ummm girls..." Owen tried to catch our attention.

"WHAT?" We all turned to him glaring.

"Ummm... nothing, I just think you should go get ready...?" He tried to say but it sounded like a question.

"Yeah... It's six already and you have one hour left." Mike backed him up.

"SHIT!" We all exclaimed and ran next door...

* * *

**An hour later**

**Liam's POV**

What have I done to deserve so much torture? So much teasing? The past four days have been heaven and hell for me. On the one hand, I had Melanie by my side at all times, on the other I had a very enchanting, gorgeous, bewitching Melanie by my side all the time. It surely didn't help my groin that it was so hot outside that everyone was in shorts and tank tops. I was constantly hard around her. It came to the point I was embarrassed to be around her.

And today when she came to wake me up...If I woke up this way for the rest of my life, I would be a happy man, but at the moment it was a complete torture. The way she kept grinding on me and her constant sucking on my neck (where she left another mark by the way), diminished the little control I had over my body. Another minute of that and I would totally forget about the party. I would throw her on the bed and show her exactly how much she has been affecting me all this time. But that had to wait. I wouldn't let our relationship be based on sex, not matter how much I wanted to make her mine. I've had enough one-night-stands and such in college. Now all I wanted was a steady relationship with her. I wanted us to get to know each other first and then it could move on, but she sure wasn't making it easy. But when has she ever?

Anyway... After she left a snicker-y Aphrodite appeared in front of me and that sight made me yell at her, something the entire camp probably heard. It also earned me a smack and a lecture from favourite aunt before she left. The guys and I spent the next hour on the couch killing our brain cells with PS3. Thankfully I had much more than needed so there would be no problem, but in Mike's case... hmmm... When I pointed that one out we started fighting until dad came in and told us to stop and get ourselves ready.

That's what we did. Four guys in front of a mirror shaving. One couldn't see without his glasses, another didn't have anything to shave and the other two kept fighting. A typical preparation for Owen, Ben, Mike and me. Then we went to my room where they had brought their selected outfits and I would choose mine. As they got dressed, I went through my closet trying to find something to wear. After much searching, I found the perfect outfit to describe me. A navy blue short-sleeve shirt and a pair of navy blue shorts because the party wasn't so formal and it was really hot outside. It wasn't much, but it was me. I also put on my contacts, since I didn't want to be with my glasses on all the time. When we finished getting dressed, we all went outside and waited for our girls.

"How much do you think we'll wait?" Mike asked. We all checked our watches... 7:15 pm.

"With them you can never know, but we're already late... so I give them five more minutes before we go in there. Right?" Owen suggested and we nodded.

"You won't need to wait anymore boys." We heard Alex say from behind us. Ben sat there with his mouth open, his tongue sticking out like a dog and when I turned around I realized why. My sister was hot. Wearing just a simple blue strapless dress and having her hair in its usual messy style, she could make a guy drool and that's what happened to Ben.

That's also what happened to me, along with some pants tightening, when Melanie walked out of the house. Her dress was amazing on her. It brought out the right parts of her body, showing her legs, arms and one shoulder, but left everything else to one's imagination. And mine went crazy... It was a simple black, knee-length dress with a belt at the waist. It just looked perfect on her. Also the pendant I gave her was perfectly showing. She and the rest of the girl started laughing when they saw our reactions to seeing them. Each walked to their boyfriends and soon Melanie came up to me.

"You should keep that closed. We don't want any flies in there." She said giggling and closed my mouth.

"You're breathtakingly beautiful." I said kissing her.

"You're not half bad yourself." She said smiling.

"Hey, lovebirds, let's go. We're late." Owen yelled and we groaned holding on to each other tightly.

"Liam, it's your party we are talking about." Abby pointed out.

"Give the birthday boy a break and let's go." My sister said and dragged Ben towards the pavilion and the others followed them. But before we also followed I had to ask Melanie something.

"Mel, did you get me a present or something?" I asked her serious.

"Well... I didn't have the time so..." She said looking away embarrassed.

"No need to feel embarrassed. Really. But I know what you can do as a present for me." I said and her eyes lit up.

"What?"

"Sneak out with me." I said seriously.

"What? Why would we need to sneak out?" She asked confused.

"I don't why but they are all trying to keep me here. Whenever I want to get out of camp and go to the city, they keep holding me back. Nobody actually said that I'm not allowed to go out, but it sure feels like it. Please... can you do this for me?" I asked giving her my best pout.

"I would go even without the pout. I just wanted to know the sneaking. You know I love to sneak." She said kissing me.

"Part of being a daughter of Nyx huh?" I asked wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Yeah and your unpredictability is a part of being a grandson of Poseidon huh?" She asked snuggling close to my body as we walked to the pavilion.

"Let's go smart-ass." I said chuckling.

The moment we entered the pavilion the clapping began. Everyone walked up to me and Melanie wishing me 'happy birthday' and stuff. There were two rows of presents around. One for me and one for my mom. Each cabin had created, bought or whatever one gift for each of us and placed it with the others. After the campers let us breathe, Mel and I went to my parents who were smiling brightly at the sight of us snuggled together like that. Melanie walked to my mom first as I went to my dad.

"Happy birthday, champ." He said hugging me.

"Thanks dad." I answered and went to my mom.

"Happy birthday to us, baby." She said hugging me tight with tears in her eyes. I figured she was probably afraid that I would leave again or something similar.

"Mom, I'm not going anywhere, so there is no need to cry..." I whispered in her ear.

"I hope so, LJ. I really do." She said wiping away her tears.

"How's my favourite nephew?" I heard someone say from behind me.

"I'm your only nephew, Amy." I said turning around to find her holding David and John with his arms around the both.

"That's why you are my favourite. Now come here birthday boy." She said and I went to her hugging her but I also avoided squishing David.

John also wished me 'happy birthday', then the Gods followed and last was Chiron, who did it by talking to everyone like he was making announcement. He later proclaimed the beginning of the party and started eating and stuff. My friends, Melanie and I were sitting in our usual table, while everyone else was free to sit wherever they wanted. After a good one hour, Apollo and his children, who were responsible for the music for this night, started playing and many got in the middle of the pavilion, the dance-floor. The music was slow for now so I got an idea.

"Would you mind if I took my mother for a dance before you?" I whispered in Melanie's ear.

"You're such a mama's boy..." She said giggling. "Not at all."

"Be right back then." I said kissing her cheek. I got and went to my parents' table followed by my sister. "Mom, would you do me the honor?" I asked extending my hand.

"Of course LJ." She answered giggling and put her hand in mine, at the same exact moment dad got up to join Alex in a dance.

"Are you enjoying your birthday mom?" I asked her a few minutes into the dance.

"Now that you are here, yes. It hadn't been the same without you." She answered and put her head against my shoulder as we swayed to the music.

"May I cut in?" Ben asked tapping my shoulder.

"Sure man." I answered smiling. I went over to our table, where my girl was sitting by herself, right after I gave Ben my mother's hand. "Wanna dance beautiful?" She got up and came to whisper in my ear.

"Why don't we sneak out now that everyone is dancing instead?" She asked making me smile.

"Anything for my girl." I said. "Let's go." We went back to my house where she quickly changed back to her more athletic clothes and I wrapped my Ancile around my arm. I was already wearing Achilles, so all I need it after putting my armband on was take my keys. We got in my car and I drove off. We had decided to go down the Manhattan beach and spend some time there. But right after we passed the camp's borders I started laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Melanie asked me confused.

"Just remembering what happened the last time I was out of camp." I said and she blushed. "I got one question that's been bugging me ever since that day, though."

"Tell me." She simply said taking my hand in hers.

"Well, since you can turn invisible, how did the sphinx get to you?" I asked curious.

"Well... I have my great ego to thank for that. I thought I could kill it without using my powers." She answered. "Why didn't you use yours?"

"Because I knew I could kill it." I replied simply.

"You are so full of yourself, baby." She said rubbing my chin.

"I'm serious Melanie. I knew I could kill it. The sphinx is nothing comparing to Ares, Artemis or grandparents and I have beat them all while training. And you know that they all push me harder than anyone else. Up until now I have never come across anything that can kill me if I'm focused on the act and stop playing around. Fooling around is the only reason that monster managed to cut my arm." I said seriously.

"You've beaten Ares, Artemis, Athena and Poseidon?" She asked in disbelief.

"Without using my powers. There is a reason everyone say I'm the best fighter there is. They've made one." I replied. "But let's leave all that. We are here."

We got out and went to sit right on the sand. Like we did back at camp at nights, we sat so close to the water that if I wasn't a grandson of Poseidon, we would get our asses wet. But I was and we never had such problems. We lied down with her snuggled to my left side and her head on my chest, and we observed the night sky and the stars. Like the smart-ass I am I started telling her about each an every constellation and she just lied there listening to me even though she might have heard all that before. But we were soon interrupted.

"Hello son of Perseus Jackson..." I quickly shot up, put Melanie behind me and instinctively unclasped Achilles. Before us stood a woman with at least a dozen furies behind her. "No need to get aggressive Liam Kai Jackson... We just want to talk to you..."

**Is that better Alex? :)**

**Now, who is it this time? What does she want from Liam? How does she know who he is? If you have any guesses, we'd be delighted to "hear" them. Now wanna know something weird? I'm sure many of you have probably taken the "who's your godly parent?" kind of tests. When we took about four today each and the results were quite weird. It seems that I'm a daughter of Poseidon and my goof is a son of Athena, which would explain his annoying photographic memory (**_Pokepikachu1_ **you know exactly what I'm talking about) if the Greek Gods existed (something I've come to believe after reading the PJO... call me crazy... I know and I'm proud of it). **

**Anyway, LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	8. Finding Out

**Before giving you the chapter... if we remember correctly in one of the books, someone tells Percy that he should never go into the Central Park because it's full monsters... We hope we remember correctly because we can't seem to find it in the books to confirm or not... But even if we are wrong, pretend we are right for the story's sake.**

**Also, we finally found a couple name for Liam and Melanie... Well actually all the credit goes to **_SonofAphrodite_**, but he lend it to us. So Melanie+Liam=Meliam !**

**Chapter 8: Finding out**

_**previously**_

_"Hello son of Perseus Jackson..." I quickly shot up, put Melanie behind me and instinctively unclasped Achilles. Before us stood a woman with at least a dozen furies behind her. "No need to get aggressive Liam Kai Jackson... We just want to talk to you..." _

**Liam's POV**

"Who are you and how do you know who I am?" I asked cautious.

"Everyone knows who the great male is... It's what keep you alive." She said. What the fuck is she talking about? What great male? Why would knowing who I am keep me alive?

"You didn't fully answer my question." I said rather rudely but she kept smiling.

"I'm Selene, the Goddess of the moon. Ever heard of me?" She asked still smiling. For some reason I really didn't like that smile.

"Yes. You're Hyperion's daughter. The titan my father turned into gold." I answered and Melanie gasped behind me.

"Precisely young... How should I call you Liam? A demigod?" She asked giggling.

"Second generation, but yeah." I replied.

"Okay then young demigod. Daughter of Nyx, how is my lovely aunt? Does she like being part of the Olympian kingdom?" The titan-goddess asked Melanie.

"Leave her out of this. Your issues have to do with me and my family." I said and shielded me and Melanie with water.

"Liam, I told you. I just want to talk to you. I have absolutely no intention of hurting you. You are my future. The future of all of us above the Olympians..." She said and as if to prove her point shooed the furies away.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why would I be all that? I'm just a guy." I asked..

"Just a guy?" She started laughing then. "They haven't even told, have they?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Who hasn't told me what?" I asked getting angrier by the second.

"They protected from Zeus, they trained you to be the best, but they didn't tell you the simplest of things? That the world's fate is upon your shoulders?" She asked and I stood there dumbfounded. "The Gods and your parents are pathetic."

"Why should we believe you?" Melanie asked cause I couldn't speak. Her comment seemed to infuriate the titan-goddess in front of us, because her smile turned into a death glare.

"What gives you the right to question me, foolish brat? The fact that your mother is my father's aunt? That means nothing to me." She spat walking towards us looking solely at Melanie.

"Stay away from her or I will find a way to kill you." I said when I finally found my voice again. She immediately stopped her advance and straightened her clothing.

"So be it. Whenever you are ready to talk Liam... just meet me at your playground... Buena note!" She said, got on a Pegasus made of stone and flew out of there.

I twisted Achilles so it became a ring again and put it on. What the hell was she talking about? My parents had hid something from me? The Gods too? Is that why they have been training me? A tool to reassure their survival? Is that all I am to them? All those times they joked around with me, pushed over the edge, gave all those gifts... was that all because of what Selene said? They've been lying to me for twenty years?

"Baby, baby... look at me Liam!" Someone kept saying, but I saw red. That's why their behavior was so strange ever since I got back. That's why they didn't want me out of the camp. Did my siblings know too? And they kept it from me?

"LIAM!" The person started shaking my head until I focus on his/her face. "Liam, baby, you're scaring me."

"Melanie..." I breathed.

"Liam, stop the earthquake." She said and that's when I realized what I had been doing. "If you keep on doing this, you'll destroy New York city."

"I'm sorry..." I said and tried to compose my anger... I needed to know! "Mel, can you drive?"

"Yeah, why?" She asked.

"Because I don't think I can right now." I said and led us back to the car. "If they have lied to me all this time..." I trailed off when we were in the car.

"She's probably just messing with you. Mom once told me that Selene and Helios have always been ones to scheme situations." She tried to reassure me.

"How can you say that? Haven't noticed the way everyone has been acting ever since I came back? They didn't want me out of camp. My mother is always talking to me like I'll go away or something. My siblings are acting weird. Everyone knows something I don't. And if that something has anything to do with what that bitch said, they're out." I yelled and involuntary caused another short earthquake.

"What do you mean they're out?" She asked.

"OUT OF MY LIFE!" I yelled again. She didn't push me any further for the rest of the ride. When we reached the camp's borders everyone was there with worried looks on their faces.

"Give them one chance. Please... For me...?" Melanie pleaded looking into my eyes.

"Just one." I said sighing.

"Good enough for me." She said smiling and got out. I also got out and the questioning began.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled at them as another trembling of the earth happened. "Do you have anything to say to me?"

"Baby, we..." My mother started but I cut her off.

"I asked something specific. Do you or do you not have something to tell me?" I asked and I could feel the water around me start building.

"Yes we do Liam." Amy said. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to lose my nephew because you are afraid he can't take it." She said looking at my parents.

"Well..." I trailed off expectantly.

"Remember the story about how your birth divided the gods?" She asked and I nodded. "The reason behind all this is a Prophecy expressed that night by Rachel."

"And none of you thought this was important and that I needed to know, right? No one?" I asked looking at everyone of them.

"We wanted to, but mom didn't let us." Alex said looking down.

"You knew too? All of you did?" I asked looking at my "siblings". "Did you know too?" I asked turning to Melanie.

"No I didn't." She said quickly. The look in her eyes was sincere so I believed her.

"What was the Prophecy saying?" I asked.

"_The fate of the Olympian kingdom_

_lies upon the son of the sea and wisdom_

_His birth will divide the world_

_the alliances will be so odd_

_His power immense, his will is strong_

_Like his father, he'll try to do no wrong_

_Olympus will prevail_

_with one decision of this great male"_ my mother quoted.

"You are unbelievable. How could you hide something like this from me?" I asked her.

"I wanted to protect you..." Oh no she didn't.

"Protect me? From what? Every monster they have sent was not after me. They want me alive because this fucking decision I will make. And even if they wanted me dead, how can you actually believe that they can achieve that? There is not a single God that can beat me! Not even the Goddess of strategy." I spat.

"We made you who you are, Liam." My grandmother said.

"And you just crashed me." I said and walked towards the beach. I really needed to calm down. "Don't you dare follow me." I yelled just before I was out of their sight.

* * *

**Melanie's POV**

"How could you do this to him?" I asked Percy and Annabeth when their son was out of sight.

"We wanted to give him a life without worrying about the future, Melanie. We didn't want it to go that far." Percy answered.

"But it did dad. You know him. He will never forgive us for lying to him about something this big." Alex said crying in Ben's arms.

"He will if I have a say in this." I said in determination. "It might take time, but he will eventually."

"I told you: you should never have kept that from him." Amy scolded Percy and Annabeth.

"And you were right, Amy. But that doesn't change the fact that he hates us now." Annabeth said also crying.

"Melanie, you should go to him. You are the only one he needs right now." Aphrodite advised and I nodded.

I walked down the beach and found him lying on the sand with his eyes closed playing with some water. The ground around him was shaking, but it wasn't like the earthquake on the beach. That one could destroy the entire New York city. This one was just a slight shake. I carefully and slowly walked towards him. Either he didn't notice me, which I doubt, or he didn't mind my being here. As if reading my mind...

"I don't mind you being here, you know." He said taking a deep breath. His words gave me the courage to walk faster to him and plop down next to him.

"How is your temper?" I asked running my fingers over his chest trying to calm him a little.

"Not good." he answered simply.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked snuggling to his side

"My entire life is a joke. I thought I knew who I was and who to trust, but now..." He trailed off wrapping an arm around me.

"You still know who you are. You are the charming son, big brother, nephew and the best fighter that ever was..." He cut me off then sitting us up.

"The Gods have made me that way. I'm just their pawn. A way to survive. They trained and befriended me only because their lives depended on my decisions." He said frantically.

"You don't seriously believe that, do you? They all love you. You are their nephew, their grandson." I said holding his face in front of mine.

"I don't know what to believe, Melanie. I thought I could trust them with anything, but they kept this from me." He said looking away. "I'm really considering meeting with Selene..."

"Don't you dare... And of course you can trust them." I replied.

"How can I, Mel?" He asked.

"You know your mother. She has always been protective of you and wanted as little stress applied to you as possible. That's the only reason they kept it from you. And that's why you should trust them." I answered.

"Whose side are you on?" He asked me looking straight into my eyes.

"Yours... Forever..." I said caressing his cheek and smiled.

His answer was really simple... He crashed his lips to mine with need. Just like a few hours ago, my hands flew to his hair tugging on it and once again he didn't seem to mind. In fact, I could feel how it turned him on. I laid back and pulled him with me while our lips never lost contact. I nibbled on his lower lip silently asking him for entrance and not only did he granted it, but he also pushed his tongue forward full force. Out tongues battled, our hands were roaming each other's bodies and our sexes were pressed against each other through some fabric.

"Gods, I need you so fucking much..." He trailed off and attached his mouth to my neck. I moaned as he sucked on my skin and ground my hips to his as much as our current position allowed me to. My left leg reached up and wrapped itself around his waist as he trailed his right hand from my side downwards only to grip my thigh as it was around him. His mouth went lower to my shoulder-blade and I turned my head to the side...

"Have me then..." I whispered in his ear and I heard him groan against my skin. The thing is that ever since the first day of us being together I wanted our relationship to be completed, but he said that he wanted us to get to know each other before we were physically together. Although I found it really sweet of him, it also pushed my buttons. Observing him as he trained in just a pair of shorts wasn't helpful either. How he managed to keep himself so controlled is beyond me.

"But where we can we go?" he asked pulling back to look at me. "I'm not going back to my house. Even if you paid me..."

"Let's go to my cabin then..." I said and massaged him through his shorts with my foot earning a throaty growl.

"What about your siblings?" He asked removing my foot from his groin.

"Right now, I honestly don't give a shit." I said and kissed him.

We hurriedly got up and practically ran to my cabin. The moment we got in my room, my door got locked and I was pressed up against it. His hands and mouth ravished my body while all I could do was try to muffle my moans against his shoulder. He pulled his mouth off of my skin just to remove my t-shirt, before continuing his assault. The only difference being that then his kisses went lower and lower until he reached my cloth-covered breasts, where he stayed for quite some time. He kept sucking on my nipples through the bra until I decided to get the stupid fabric out of the way. Then it was just his mouth on my skin once again. It was heaven. But I was tired of our little foreplay. I needed him more than words could tell.

"Baby... bed..." I managed to breathe between moans. He didn't answer. But he did take the few steps back needed to reach my bed and fell back with me landing on top of him. Approximately ten seconds after we landed on my bed, we were both naked and kissing like mad people. Somewhere between our make-out session, I had managed to turn us in way that he was on his back and I was sitting on top of him, so all I needed to get this show on the road was lift myself up and sit back down on him. That's what I did.

With a swift movement of mine he was fully sheathed inside of me filling me to the hilt. I didn't move for a few seconds to let my body adjust to his size, but soon I started bouncing on him while he helped me by grabbing my hips and pushing me back down on his hard dick. We moved in complete sync with each other like it was the most natural of things... like it was meant to be... Or at least that's how it was for me. Up and down, up and down, moving together as one, kissing, ravishing each other... It was just perfect. And the ending of this act was even more perfect. Having received more stimulation than him prior to finally being together, I came first, but the extra tightening of my walls, pushed him over the edge as he spilled inside me.

After that I just collapsed on him with my head against his chest and his dick still in me. He somehow managed to pull the covers over us and then we just lied there in each other's arms trying to recuperate.

"Thank you..." He said after some time kissing my head. I turned my head up so I could see him and placed my chin on his chest.

"I should thank you for giving me such a good time." I said and kissed his scruffy chin before laying my head on top of his heart. "I love you." I blurted out involuntary. Gods, did I just tell him that I love him? I can't believe I told him that. What if he freaks out...? Maybe he'll leave... maybe he...

"I love you too..." He said wrapping his arms around me tight.

"You do?" I asked in surprise lifting myself up.

"I wouldn't lie to you. Especially after what happened today..." He said smiling and placed his hand on either side of my face. "I love you Melanie Claire Carter and if anyone has a problem with that, they can go to hell." He finished and kissed me.

"You're such a sucker for romance..." I trailed off once we were back in our previous position.

"I take that after my dad." He said chuckling.

"You sure do." I said yawning.

"Let's get some sleep baby girl." He said also yawning.

"Liam...?" I said after a few minutes.

"Mmmmm...?" he murmured half asleep.

"I love you." I said and kissed his chest. I could feel his smiled against my hair.

"Love you too, baby girl. Sweet dreams." He said before falling asleep. I soon followed his example.

* * *

**Next day**

The next day I woke up with a shitting grin plastered on my face from the events of last night, but it soon turned into a frown when I didn't find my man's body next to me. I looked around and there wasn't a hint of him him being here. Only I found was a cell phone and a letter under it on my nightstand, which I took quickly and read:

_Dear Melanie,_

_I'm sorry I'm not going to be there when you open your beautiful blue eyes. Especially after last night._

_I'm also sorry that I'll be away from camp for a while. You have no idea how much I'll miss you._

_But I have to do this. I have to talk to Selene and find out everything my parents didn't tell me._

_I will call you when I can on the phone that was on top of this letter, just don't take it out of camp._

_I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Since you don't hold any grudges against anyone of them,_

_take care of my once siblings. And Amy. She's the only one I don't blame in this, because she wanted to tell me._

_I love baby girl... Never forget that._

_X_

_Your jackass_

When I finished reading, my eyes were filled with tears. Both for his shout out and the fact that he left. But unfortunately, I could understand his need to find out. He is a grandson of the Athena after all. I took a quick shower, got dressed and ran to the Jacksons' house where everyone was gathered again.

"Where is he?" Annabeth asked me frantic.

"He went to meet Selene and find out what you haven't told him." I said wiping away a tear.

"And you let him?" She asked me with wide eyes.

"Yeah, because I totally wanted him to leave me." I said sarcastically.

"Don't mind her, Melanie. She's just..." Percy started, but I cut him off.

"I really don't need to hear it Percy. Just tell me where his playground is and we're going to be fine." I said.

"What?" He and Annabeth asked in unison.

"Selene told him to meet her in his playground when he was ready to talk. So where is it?" I asked. Annabeth gasped after a few minutes.

"The central park..." She breathed. I didn't need anything else. Since I had driven us back to camp last night, I still had the keys, so I got in his car and drove off. My destination? The Central Park.

**Oooohhhhhhhh... What's going to happen there? Will anyone follow Melanie to the central park? What will happen to Liam? All those questions shall be answered in the next chapter!**

**C: Oh and I officially hate my twin brother... So Mike if you read this know that I HATE YOU FOR TAKING MY LAPTOP! He is the reason Tony and I posted this so late. In order to take it back I actually had to call Tony, but in the end my dear brother ended up with a black eye and I ended up with a hurt wrist. You see I'm sooo stubborn that I wanted to punch him myself. Stupid me... So as you can guess Tony typed it so any mistakes are on him... the good parts are on me... :)**

**Love you guys and good night! (if you review we'll see it in the morning)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	9. Central Park

**Chapter 8: Central Park**

**Selene's POV**

After I left the young demigods to process everything I had told them, I returned to my master. I knew that Liam Kai Jackson was way too curious to sit back and not try to find out what I had been talking about, so there was no doubt in my mind that he would soon call for me to meet him at the central park. Once I reached my master's study I knocked on the door and felt a cold breeze pass by me.

"Enter.." He trailed off as I opened the door and got in. "Oh it's you. How did it go with the great male?"

"As expected my lord. His curiosity will make him call for me soon." I answered bowing.

"Selene, remember that he is essential in our plan. Without him, we will never over-power the Gods." He said cautiously.

"I know my lord."

"The Gods have trained him well. They even managed to minimize the problem of his inability to see clearly. I have to say that I'm impressed with him." He said rubbing his chin.

"He has nothing on you though." I complimented.

"Let's hope we don't have to find out." he said. "HELIOS! LYSSA!" The next second they entered the room and knelt before our master much like myself.

"You called master?" They both said.

"Yes. How's the recruiting going, Helios?" He asked my brother.

"It's going great, master. We have all of my father's remaining followers, as well as some new ones on our side. Soon we'll be even more and ready to battle." My brother answered with a smile on his face.

"Good, good... Now, Lyssa... when young Liam asks for Selene, I want you to be there and "influence" him a little bit. Just to make it easier for us." The quotation marks were audible in his tone.

"As you wish my lord." She said nodding. "But master, what about Melanie?"

"Lyssa, your demigod of a sister won't be a problem once we get him on our side and he won't bring her with him in our lair." He answered calmly.

"But the central park isn't our lair." Helios pointed out.

"True Helios... but he doesn't know that."

**Liam's POV**

A few hours after Melanie and I fell asleep in the arms of one another, I woke up to find us in a slightly different position, the change being that we were turned sideways. Other than she still had her face buried in my chest and I had mine on top of her head. Melanie surely was the sight I wanted to wake up to every day of my life, but I couldn't help but think of everything my "family" has kept from me. Was the prophecy all or was there something else? Something not as important as the prophecy, but still something. That uncertainty made me carefully slip away from the bed, careful not to wake Melanie up, and get dressed.

I _needed_ to know! Since my family didn't want to tell me, I would go to someone who wanted to: Selene. I considered waking up Melanie and telling her to come with me, but after the Selene's reaction to seeing her I decided against it. I absolutely hate myself for leaving her alone after the perfect night we spent together, but I had to. I didn't want her to feel that she was just another one-night-stand for me, because she wasn't. She could never be. She was already everything. My everything. In order to somewhat show her that, I wrote her a letter, which I placed on her nightstand with my cell phone on top of it.

I left her cabin as soon as I wrote the letter to avoid any more temptation and went straight to my family's garage where my wondrous bike stood proud and waiting for me. I ran my hand over the leather seat before getting on and bringing it back to life. I'm sure the roaring sound of the engine woke up at least my family, so in order to avoid seeing them I quickly drove away. On my way to the central park, I grabbed something to eat and bought another cell phone, so I could call Melanie when I wanted.

When I finally reached the central park, I stopped the bike right in front of the entrance. A cyclops, who was leaning back against a pillar, approached me when he saw me...

"Why are you here Liam Kai Jackson?" He asked in a serious tone.

"I'm here to speak to Selene... Watch it." I said and threw him the keys to mt bike. "If anything happens, I'll kill you.. Understood?"

"Understood." He said nodding.

"Perfect." I said and headed inside.

As I walked through the path-walks of the park, monsters kept coming out of everywhere. But unlike the other times I had been here, they never attacked me or even tried to. They just kept watching me. But I had my hand ready to twist my ring in case it was needed. I walked further in the park and found two women sitting at the feet of Balto's statue smiling at me. One was Selene... the other I didn't know, but she sure was a goddess or a titan...

"Well, well... you finally decided to look for the truth..." Selene said getting up.

"Just tell me what you know." I said.

"I'm sure they told you about the prophecy, so what more do you want to know?" She asked.

"The whole story behind this." I said never approaching her.

"Very well. You were born on the fifth of March twenty years ago. Two days later, your parents took you home and later the usual dinner took place with a slight difference. There wasn't a single God missing. Not even Nyx, who's a primary goddess. Everybody took a hold of you... Your grandparents, the nine you defended you, the other demigods, even Zeus and Hera. Then that centaur spoke congratulating your parents for your arrival and then right before you started eating, Rachel Elizabeth Dare gave another great Prophecy: yours." She said and then the other woman continued.

"When the Gods heard the prophecy, Zeus's hand immediately went to his lightning bolt, your grandparents moved in front of you and your parents. After a few seconds, your dad got up and came between Poseidon and Athena with his sword in hand ready to fight. Words were exchanged, the Gods took sides, Hades brought you, your mother and your aunts to the underworld, while a great battle erupted in the pavilion. As you might have heard, Perseus defeated Zeus with his fear of your hurt fueling his power and Zeus backed off seeing that he was losing the fight. He returned to Olympus and let you be. That's what your family has kept from you for twenty years." Selene took charge again.

"You are the key to the Gods' survival and that's why they trained you so hard. That's why they made you unstoppable. With your right choice they will keep on living and they wanted you to be prepared for that." She said.

"_You are just a pawn..._" I heard a voice say on the back of my mind. My anger started building. _"They never loved you or cared for you... Not even your grandparents..." _That voice said again.

"_We always have Liam. You are our grandson..." _That was Athena's voice.

"_If she loved you, why did she hide this from you?" _That voice again...

"Join us Liam. Join us and you can get a revenge on those who've been lying to you all these years..." Selene said smiling.

"_You can't do that Liam... We're your family!" _Aphrodite...

"_Families are honest with each other... They lied to you..." _

"What do you say Liam?" Selene asked again.

"_Liam..." _Poseidon.

"_Liam...?" _Athena.

"_Liaammmmm..." _Thevoice.

"_Liam..." _Apollo.

"_Liam..." _Artemis.

"_Champ!" _Ares.

"_Liam..." _Hephaestus.

"_LJ!" _Aphrodite.

"_Liam..." _Hermes.

"_Liam..." _Hades.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! SHUT UP!" I yelled pressing my hands on either side of my head. The ground started to shake as my head was spinning. The voices were driving me crazy...

"LIAM!" Melanie's voice was the clearest of all and music to my ears.

* * *

**Melanie's POV**

"The central park..." Annabeth breathed. I didn't need anything else. Since I had driven us back to camp last night, I still had the keys, so I got in his car and drove off. My destination? The Central Park. But when I got to the gates I found the rest of the group on their motorcycles in pairs. Alex got off of Ben's bike, came to me and got in her brother's car.

"No time to argue, go!" She said and I followed her order. The others followed right behind us.

"Why is the central park his playground?" It had been bugging me ever since Annabeth breathed that half-sentence.

"You know that it's infested with monsters right?" She asked and I nodded. "Can you guess why, now?"

"You mean..." I trailed off.

"Yes. I mean that he used to go there to play with the monsters." She said.

"Who would do this?" I asked mostly myself, but Alex was eager to answer.

"Ares. He took him to the park for the first time when he was seven. Liam loved it and asked if he could go again. After much pleadings, our parents let him go for a second time. The second became a third, a fourth and so on. He kept going there every week with one of the gods practicing what they taught him during that week."

"When did he stop?" I asked driving like a mad woman.

"He hasn't. At least not before he went to Florida. He just didn't go so often, because there weren't many monsters left for him to practice on." She answered shrugging.

"So you're saying that Liam helped in the clearance of Central Park?" I asked in disbelief.

"You could say that... Now drive!" She urged me.

Although the rest of the ride lasted only 10 minutes with the way I drove, to me it felt like an eternity. Alex kept checking on her sword and bow, which made me even more nervous than I already was. It's not that I don't trust his abilities and strengths, because I don't. Not after seeing him train and finding out he has beaten the gods in training. It's just that I know how devious Selene is. My mom told me about how she likes to manipulate the situations in her favor. If she wanted to take over Olympus and Liam was the key to that, even if he is a grandson of Athena, nothing will save him from her spell.

We finally arrived at the grand entrance to the park and parked our vehicles right in the front. There was a cyclops leaning against a pillar close to the entrance.

"That's his bike..." Owen said pointing to a large blue monster-bike.

"That's his? How can he drive it?" I asked in disbelief.

"Well he can, but now that's not important." Abby said gesturing to the cyclops that was approaching us.

"Hey, that's not your bike. Stay away from it." He said. Didn't he realize we are demigods?

"It's my brother's, so it can be considered mine too." Alex said smiling.

"Your brother's? But the owner is a demi..." he started but someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Ben snickering.

"He is a demigod and so are we." Ben said before punching the lights out of him. "Shall we?" He asked us then.

"Wow, baby! That was hot." Alex exclaimed smiling.

"Thanks." He said back and walked in followed by the rest of us. We walked in the park in a tight mass to avoid any sudden attacks...

"Guys, I have a question..." I trailed off looking around for monsters.

"What is it?" Amanda asked wary.

"How come didn't that cyclops realize we are demigods?" I asked them and they stopped abruptly.

"Are you seriously asking this?" Mike looked at me like I was crazy.

"I guess..."

"Haven't you ever noticed that monsters usually walk past us?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, but now it finally registered in my mind." I admitted.

"Because we are second generation demigods, our scent is not as strong as yours." Alex said.

"Then how didn't he notice me?" I asked again.

"Because you have the scent of a second generation demigod on you. On _every_ part of your body..." Owen said and when I understood what he said I blushed.

"Ohhh..." was all I could say.

"Now cleared that out can we go find our brother?" Amanda whined. The next moment, we did just that. Tried to find Liam. But the central park was HUGE. Searching for him was pointless without a plan.

"Alex, what is his favourite place to train in here?" I asked her.

"I don't know. I hardly ever came with him." She answered. We stopped walking and tried to think.

"Balto!" Amanda exclaimed.

"What?" We asked her.

"Don't you remember guys? What was his favourite animated movie?" She asked the others, because I had no clue. **(fyi, ours is Lion King not Balto, but we needed it for the chapter) **

"Balto!" They exclaimed too...

"Okay, now can you explain to me what 'Balto' means?" I asked them raising my eye-brows.

"Balto was a dog that lead a great expedition in Alaska in 1925. There was an animated movie made about his story and it was Liam's favourite." Owen explained.

"There also happens to be a statue of Balto in central park. That's where he must be." Abby filled in for her boyfriend.

We exchanged a look and then ran towards the direction of the statue. On the way, though, we found dozens of monsters. We pushed back to back and started fighting them off. Although they were no match for us, they were too fucking many and they slowed us down. We kept fighting them until Alex pulled me in the circle of bodies.

"You have to go help him or whatever. We can handle this." She said as the rest kept fighting off the monsters.

"But..." She cut me off.

"No buts Melanie... Our role in this is limited... The gods have said so themselves. You and Liam, your relationship is what matters. Balto's statue is that way. Go to my brother." She urged me on. I nodded, used my power of invisibility and ran away from the battle.

I ran to the direction Alex pointed and soon I found my man. Standing in the middle with the statue of a dog, which I guess was Balto, in front of him. Selene and another woman were standing right by the feet of the dog. But I had seen this other woman before...Oh my Gods! Lyssa... My half-sister... She could drive anyone crazy. Her name meant 'frenzy' in Greek after all... If she messed with Liam's mind...

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! SHUT UP!" My baby shouted at the top of his lungs while he also grabbed his head in between his palms. I had to act quickly.

"LIAM!" I yelled and he seemed less tense when he heard my voice.

"You again..." Selene spat glaring at me. "Lyssa, why don't you show your sister what a child of Nyx really is...?" She suggested right before Lyssa charged at me.

"Don't you even dare!" Liam said with venom in his tone unclasping his sword and came to stand in front of me.

**Cathy: There is always a bright side in everything! Even in hurting your wrist. First of all, I taught my older by FIVE FREAKING minutes brother a lesson, so he won't mess with me for a quite some time. And then, I got a little extra attention (where did all of your sick minds go... tsk tsk tsk...). *giggles* **

**Did the brain bleach do any good, **_Pokepikachu1_**? I hope we didn't traumatize you much little brother... :)**

**Now who do you think this "master" or "lord" is? I can assure you that you won't find it, but Tony and I would really like to know your opinion on the matter.**

**LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	10. Overpowering them

**Chapter 10: Overpowering Them**

**Liam's POV**

Selene said something, which I didn't understand because of my trance, right before the other woman charged at my girl. I had to act. I couldn't let that woman hurt MY girl. I went to stand in front of her and unclasped Achilles.

"Don't you even dare!" I growled with so much venom in my tone that it actually surprised me.

"Lyssa! Now!" Selene said again and this "Lyssa" stopped dead on her tracks smiling at me.

"_She was on your parents' side. She wanted you to give them a chance after everything they did..." _That voice again... I hesitated... Melanie did indeed plead with me to give them a chance...

"_But she said that she was on your side... Forever... She loves you..." _Aphrodite... I looked back at Melanie and found her smiling at me with so much love in her eyes... _"She showed you how much she loves you..." _Aphrodite thought again. She was right... But...

"_Remember who you are..." _Poseidon said. I'm who you made me. I turned back to Lyssa and Selene.

"_Remember your training..."_ Ares was next. But I don't know if I want to fight...

"_Remember your loved ones..." _Artemis said. But you all lied to me.

"_Only because you already had much on your hands." _Hades said.

"_What is the first rule to battle strategy Liam?" _Athena asked. Never let your guard down and never let your opponent distract you. _"What has your mother taught you about primary gods and goddesses? Who is Lyssa?" _Who's Lyssa? Lyssa, Lyssa, Lyssa... She wasn't a goddess... She wasn't a titan... Ugh! Where had I heard that name?

"_Look at her, Liam, and use your brain!" _Apollo yelled. I looked at her closely... Her hair pitch black, her eyes a deep blue like the night sky, similar to Melanie's, her smile demonic... She looked like... NYX! Lyssa the daughter of Nyx and Melanie's half-sister. She was the incarnation of madness... The voice...

"_Exactly Liam... But what is she...?" _Wait.. was that Nyx?

"_FOCUS!" _they all yelled.

"_See? Even when you are about to save the world, they yell at you... You are just their tool..." _Lyssa thought smiling.

"I'm no one's tool... Even if their intention for me was to be a pawn, I won't let that happen." I spat gripping Achilles tighter.

"Join us and you won't be under the Gods anymore. You'll be stronger than them combined. You'll be able to have anything you might want... Join us." Selene said.

"I already have everything I want, so no." I replied.

"Remember that it was your choice." She said sweetly. "Lyssa, now!"

But that daughter of Nyx didn't even move. All she did was turn her gaze and smile somewhere behind me... Ohhh! Melanie! Before I could fully turn around I felt a slight pain in my left side. Lyssa invaded Melanie's mind! She had stabbed me... And she tried again... I took steps back avoiding her strikes and when I couldn't I blocked with my sword. Thankfully, although I was bleeding, it wasn't anything much, so I could keep on fighting her.

"Melanie! Snap out of it!" I yelled as I pushed against her sword.

"It's pointless, Liam. As long as Lyssa is breathing, she won't come back... But this is who she is. A daughter of Nyx. She hates you and everyone related to the Olympians just like her brothers and sisters do." Selene said.

"You don't know anything about her." I spat.

"Maybe... But what I do know is that she's trying to kill you right now." She said smiling.

"Only because that bitch has penetrated her mind..." I said pushing Melanie away, but also avoided hurting her.

"Can you be sure of that? Maybe, Lyssa isn't doing anything and it's all on your little girlfriend. Maybe she is a spy collecting information for me... How can you know which is the right answer?" She asked mockingly.

"I know her and she would never side with you. She's different." I yelled.

"Or she's just like her siblings... The best in disguising. A true daughter of the night." She taunted.

"_Liam! Remember what Lyssa is!" _Aphrodite yelled frantically in my mind. Remember what she is? Let's see... according to Euripides she was a daughter of Nyx through parthenogenesis, but she had something to do with Ouranos, she was something like his daughter, but what WAS she exactly? She was close to Maniae, the goddess of madness, but she wasn't a goddess herself... Now I remember...She was a... I knew what I had to do.

"I'm so sorry baby." I said and threw Melanie back. She landed with a loud thud hitting her head and I encircled her with water so I could deal with her sister. "Now... how about I show you why I'm not to be messed with?" I asked and charged at a terrified Lyssa. Selene threw her a golden sword, which she easily caught.

My every step, another earthquake. My every breath, a growth in the size of the water around me. Every second, my anger built. I walked towards Lyssa, who was waiting for me gripping the golden sword so tight that her palms were white. The distance between us closing rapidly and her fear was more evident by the minute. But she stood strong like she was trying to prove something to Selene. She was the leader here, so it was expected.

The first strike was mine. I hit her so hard she actually stumbled back. Ouranos's daughter my ass. She was supposed to be a challenge for fuck's sake. I closed my eyes and let myself free. This was my territory. Selene should have picked another place. Lyssa gasped when she saw that I had closed my eyes, grunted and came to me full force. But she was no match for me. She kept striking and I kept blocking.

I could feel her trying to penetrate my mind like she had done with Melanie, but she couldn't. Not after so much practice I had undergone in the past two weeks. Athena and Artemis had been trying to make my mind impenetrable and when I was focused like I am now, they weren't able to invade my mind. So Lyssa had no luck in her tries and I kept easily blocking her strikes. But I had to put an end to all this soon, because the pain in my left side was getting worse by the minute. Almost insufferable.

With the help of the water and a twist on my part, I had both mine and her sword in my hands. Using some more water, I made her kneel before me before pressing the blades on either side of her head. One wrong movement and... She kept staring at me trembling... Who knew she would be so afraid? I turned my head to look at Selene and she was utterly shocked.

"How didn't she...?" I cut her off.

"How didn't she control me? I have my grandmother and aunt to thank for that." I said in a menacing tone.

"What do you think you will do, demigod? Kill her? You can't." She said smiling.

"I wouldn't be able to kill her if she was a goddess or a titan... but she is just a spirit and you know I'm right!" I said snickering while her eyes widened.

"Selene!" Lyssa exclaimed before I cut her head off. Like the spirit she was, she dissolved into gold dust. I looked up triumphantly at Selene...

"I'll make you pay for this Jackson." She said and whistled. The same Pegasus I had seen a few hours ago flew down in front of her.

"I'd like to see you try." I said and threw her the sword. She caught it as easily as Lyssa had and mounted the Pegasus.

"You'll wish you had never disrespected me boy!" She exclaimed before flying away. I took a deep breath and went where Melanie had landed as quick as I could. Checking up on her, I found that except for some not so major wounds, her leg was broken and there was a PRETTY bad injury in the back of her head. How could I have done this to her? I'm such an idiot...

"Liam..." she breathed as I cut my shirt in pieces so I could put it on the back of her head and wrap something around the not so major wounds.

"Hey baby girl... I need you to try and stay awake, okay?" I asked grunting.

"LJ... I... I stabbed you." She said and reached for my waist.

"I'm fine. I just need a swim." I said taking a deep breath.

"I'm sor...sorry..." Her breath caught up when I placed a piece of cloth against the back of her head.

"You didn't have control of your mind, it's okay." I said.

"What if... she's right?" She asked as I got up.

"She's not. Let's get you home." I said and picked her up. The extra weight really wasn't helpful in my condition but I would make it. I had to. After all I was the reason she got hurt so badly. I threw her across the paved pathway. She snuggled to my side like she was going to sleep. "Mel... please stay awake..."

"I'm feeling really lightheaded... I don't know how much longer I can stay awake.." She said and I decided that I'd better talk to her to prevent her from closing her eyes.

"You came with my car right?" I asked.

"Yes... the keys are in my pocket.." She said and I heard the sound of many footsteps coming our way.

"Baby, did you bring anyone with you?" I asked again.

"Your siblings followed me." She replied just as Alex and the others came to sight and gasped.

"LIAM! MEL!" Alex yelled and ran to us. "You are both hurt..." Owen tried to take Melanie away from my arms but I wouldn't have that.

"No kidding..." I breathed. "Where's my car?"

"Right outside. Come on." Abby, who saw that I wasn't letting anyone help me in this, suggested. I walked outside with them following me, one opened the door and I gently placed Melanie on the seat. I was careful not to hurt her broken leg and I placed her head in a way so that the wound wasn't pressed against the seat and it hurt her. I got to the other side and drove off as fast as possible. I noticed that my sister got on my bike while the others went to theirs. Now I REALLY need a swim...

* * *

**Master's/Lord's POV**

I was sitting patiently in my desk waiting for Selene to get back with the good news of the great male's recruitment. Once he was on our side I could get on with my plan to overpower the Olympians. I just needed him. Even if Lyssa had to get in his mind to control him, I had to have him. He was the key to everything. Life, "death", power or prison... It was all up to him. A soft knock on my study's door brought me back to reality and the room darkened a little.

"Come in..." I ordered and the door opened. Helios came in and knelt before me. "What brings you here Helios?"

"It's Selene, my lord. She came back." He said and excitement went through me.

"Already? I guess Liam wasn't a challenge... Bring them in..." I ordered.

"My lord... She..." I cut him off.

"I think I gave you an order, young one." I said and let the darkness "hug" him.

"Yes my lord." He said...

"That's better..." I said and withdrew the dark matter. He got up and went outside. Not even a minute later he came in followed by his sister, but neither Lyssa nor Liam Jackson were with them. "Where is the demigod and Lyssa?" I asked looking at them closely.

"My lord... Lyssa is... dead..." Selene mumbled.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" I asked getting up from my comfortable chair.

"Lyssa is dead master. Liam Jackson killed her." She said more confidently.

"How didn't she overpower him?" I asked frantically. The darkness in the room kept taking away almost every little strand of light.

"The Olympians must have trained him so. He seemed a little dazzled in the beginning until that daughter of Nyx showed up." She said and that's when I realized what had happened.

"Did you try to attack her?" I asked her but she just looked away. "I asked you a question!"

"Yes..." She breathed.

"You irresponsible, foolish brat! Your stupid hatred towards the demigod children of Nyx just cost us the alliance of the great male." I yelled in frustration and they cowered back. "I should throw you in Tartarus for that..." I trailed off.

"No my lord. Please don't... I'll do anything... I won't fail again... Please my lord... Give me another chance..." She pleaded kissing my toes.

"I said that I should, not that I would. For all he knows you are the leader of all this and that can't be changed. So for the time being you will have that second chance. Once I come up with another plan. Both of you. Go now and let me think how I can correct your foolish mistake." I dismissed them.

"Thank you my lord." Selene said.

"Don't make me regret it... Leave now!" I ordered.

"Yes master..." They both bellowed before walking out of my study closing the door behind them. How am I going to bring him on our side now? DAMN YOU SELENE!

**If you don't guess now who the master is after so many hints... You'll just have to wait until it is revealed... What do you think so far? What will happen next?**

**Love you all!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**

**NGSA FTW ( Non-Godly Siblings Abuse for the win)**


	11. Dream

**Chapter 11: Dream **

**Melanie's POV**

Liam managed to keep me awake for the whole ride up until we reached the camp and he had me placed in a comfortable bed in the infirmary. But all the while I was awake I couldn't stop thinking of what Selene had said. It was true that all children of Nyx, me included, had a certain dislike towards the other demigods, but not all of them. And it was just a dislike, not hate as Selene had said. In the case of Moros, the Oneiroi, Momus, Thanatos, Lyssa, Oizys and Apate, it was hate, but there were siblings of mine that helped and sometimes even worked for the Gods of Olympus. Like Eris and Nemesis, who were given the chance to be the part of the Olympian kingdom as minor Goddesses. Or the Moirae, who are actually the sisters of Fate deciding what shall happen in each and everyone's lives. Geras, who was responsible for the aging of mankind. Philotes, my sister who was responsible for the bond of friendship and affection between people. Hypnos who, along with Morpheus, is the minor God of sleep.

There are examples on both sides... The good and the bad... But which will I be on? Did I want the end of the Olympians? The end of all the Olympian demigods? That would also mean the end of Liam, Alex, Ben, Owen, Abby, Mike and Amanda... Of course I didn't want that, but what if I do it involuntary? All those doubts and question were probably the cause of my dream...

* * *

_**dream...**_

_I was standing side by side with Liam and the others as a wave of monsters swept towards us. All couples were back to back fending off the incoming threats. We all were doing really good, but we were getting more and more tired by the second. There were too many of them... If only we could just control them and send them away..._

"Join us and you will be able to..." _a voice spoke in my head. It was like no other I had heard. This voice was cold and harsh, without a hint of hope or optimism. It was desperation and desperation only. But the person it belonged to had a point. I could control the monsters if I was on their side. That realization made me stop fighting. The moment I did, a man in black appeared at the top of the hill smiling at me._

"_Melanie, what are you doing?" Liam asked me when he saw that I wasn't fighting._

"_I'm siding with them." I said and walked towards the incoming monsters._

"_NO! Don't!" Alex yelled._

"_If we side with them, we'll be able to control them and turn them against someone other than us..." I tried to reason with them._

"_Yeah? Like who? Other demigods?" Ben asked slicing a cyclops's head._

"_No, of course not. Against our enemies." I replied._

"_Our enemies are their friends, Mel. Please don't do this." Liam pleaded._

"_I'm already doing it, Liam. Please join me in this..." I said staring into his beautiful, mesmerizing green eyes also pleading._

"_I'm sorry, but I can't..." He said shaking his head and continued fighting._

_Having joined them I tried to make the monsters leave my friends alone, but they wouldn't listen. More kept coming instead. My friends may be the best swordsmen in the entire camp, but even that wasn't enough against the numbers they had to defeat, so soon they were captured. One by one they were murdered, as I was screaming for the monsters to stop, until only Liam was left. They had him knelt before me ready to slice his throat._

"_I love you baby girl..." He whispered as one of the telekhines stroke..._

* * *

"NO!" I screamed waking up. I instantly felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and in my leg. I also saw Liam awaken with my scream and run to me.

"What happened?" He asked sitting next to me.

"Liam..." I breathed hugging him tight and cried in the crook of his neck.

"Shhh... I'm right here." He said soothingly rubbing my lower back. "It was just a dream.."

"But it was so real... You, Alex, Ben, Owen, Abby, Amanda, Mike, those monsters, that weird guy in black that was urging me to join him..." I sobbed in his chest.

"Everyone is fine, Mel. But what guy are you talking about?" He asked me evidently worried.

"There was this man in black on top of the hill, we were fighting and he just looked down on us smiling. But his smiled wasn't one of happiness, it was more like a smirk..." I managed to say between sobs.

"Nobody is here, Mel. Just me and you." He said pulling me back to wipe away my tears. But I needed to know that he is real, so I grabbed him by the back of his head and kissed him with all the need I could master. He returned it just as eagerly, until I moved my leg causing me to whimper at the pain, so he pushed me back. "You should get some sleep, baby girl." He said and went to get up, but I held onto him.

"Please stay..." I pleaded pouting.

"You should really stop pouting. It's fucking irresistible. Scoot over." He said huffing as I just smiled and made some room for him. He laid down and turned to look at me. "Happy?"

"No." I said and snuggled to his side ignoring the sharp pain in my leg. He wrapped his arms around me and I sighed in content. "Now I'm happy."

"Now I'm too." He answered and kissed the top of my head.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" I asked him running a finger over his chest.

"Sure."

"This time could you be here when I open my eyes?" I knew it was a strike below the belt, but I was feeling a little insecure. I looked up at him as he sighed. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, but..." He silenced me with a gentle kiss.

"You had every right to. Don't worry, I'll be here." He said and I laid my head on his chest again. Soon we were both asleep in the arms of one another.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

A few hours ago, my children returned with their loved ones and their friends all hurt. Liam and Melanie were the worst with a really bad stab at the side and many wounds respectively. Out of Melanie's injuries, the worst were her leg, which was broken, and her head, which held a REALLY bad wound in the back. But thankfully with rest and some ambrosia she would be fine in a few days. The leg would probably need a week or two with the effect of ambrosia, so it was all fine. The others didn't have anything serious. Just scratches.

When they arrived , a bleeding Liam took a half-awake Melanie to the infirmary where he didn't let Apollo touch her. He took care of her himself and went she was peacefully sleeping, he decided to go have a swim and heal. Before he did though, he ordered us not to go anywhere close to her unless she REALLY needs it. On the one hand his reaction was really sweet, but on the other it meant that he didn't trust anyone of us. When he returned Melanie was still sleeping, so he took the chair on the other side of the room and slept.

That was until Melanie shot up yelling 'NO'. He too shot up and ran to her side. No matter what her dream was about, it scared the crap out of her, because she just couldn't stop holding onto Liam. They talked a bit and we weren't able to listen to whatever was said, so we just waited. A couple of minutes later they snuggled close together, despite the fact that there wasn't much room for both. Soon they were asleep and I turned to my daughter, nieces and nephews.

"So... what happened?" I asked trying to seem calm.

"We don't know mom." Alex answered.

"Yeah, aunt Annabeth. We were holding back some monsters while Melanie went to look for Liam..." Owen started.

"But they were too many, so we never made it where they were." Abby finished for Owen.

"Yeah... Liam came bleeding and carrying Melanie." Amanda said applying some bandage on Mike's arm.

"Didn't he say anything?" Percy asked equally worried with me. Liam had stopped talking to us after we finally told him about his Prophecy. His only words after that were 'don't you dare go anywhere near her'.

"When we arrived at camp, he said something about Selene and Lyssa and something else about..." I cut Ben off then.

"Did you just say Lyssa?" Jenny and I asked frantically.

"Yeah, mom, he did. Why?" Alex asked but Jenny and I were already out of the infirmary.

"MOM!" We both yelled at the top of our lungs.

"Yes, dears?" She asked in a low voice behind us.

"Did you know?" Jenny asked seeming calm.

"What are you talking about?" She asked innocently.

"Don't play it dumb with us, mom. You're the goddess of wisdom for fuck's sake!" I yelled.

"Well..." She stammered.

"Annabeth, why are you even asking this? Of she did. All the Gods did. That's why they wanted Liam to be able to shield his mind." My sister stated glaring at our mother.

"That's why you and Artemis focused his training in shielding his mind the past few weeks." I also stated.

"Mom, aunt Annabeth, what the hell are you talking about?" Abby asked irritated.

"Amanda, what was your worst fear as a child?" Jenny asked her daughter.

"Does my childish have anything to do with my sister's question?" She asked back.

"Just answer the question, Amanda." I urged still glaring at my mother and the other Gods who had gathered behind her.

"Coming across Lyssa, the spirit of madness..." She trailed off realizing what we were talking about and the others gasped.

"How are they still sane then?" Ben wondered aloud.

"She penetrated Melanie's mind making her fight and eventually stab Liam, but because of his training she didn't manage to so the same to him." My father-in-law explained.

"Then how is Melanie back in her senses? If Lyssa gets into one's mind they're crazy for the rest of their lives..." Owen pointed out.

"Not if she died." My mom said.

"Die? How could she die?" Mike asked raising his eye-brows much like Nico did when he was surprised.

"Remember that Lyssa is a spirit. Not a titan. Not a goddess." Nyx said coming forth.

"So Liam killed her?" Alex asked and the Gods nodded. Then she turned to Nyx. "He killed your daughter and you're okay with this?"

"My children make their own choices and alliances, Alex. I do not wish them harm, but I cannot blame whoever comes up against them. I wanted to be a part of the Olympian kingdom, some of my children didn't. They hated the Olympians and their offspring. They should be careful who they mess with and have to face the consequences of their actions. I can't do that for them." She said and we were all speechless.

"So you won't hurt Liam?" Percy asked coming close to me.

"Dear Perseus, your son isn't one to be messed with, but even if he wasn't I could never do that to my daughter. Not after the little scene we just witnessed." She replied and we all knew what she was talking about.

"Are you in favor of their relationship?" Thalia asked.

"No..." The goddess answered and our faces fell. "... but only because of the dangers that lie ahead of my daughter if their relationship keeps going strong."

"He can't do this without her, Nyx." Aphrodite said. "You know that she brought him back to his senses the first time when he was shielding his mind."

"I do, Aphrodite. But I don't have to like, do I?" She asked and the goddess of love nodded.

"Oh and in our defense... we all helped him during his mental struggle." Aphrodite said sticking her tongue out like a four-year-old.

"You helped him? Isn't that forbidden or something?" Mike asked surprised.

"He wasn't on a quest Mike." Hades answered his grandson.

"Right..." He trailed off.

"You should all go to bed... It was a long day and night after all..." My mom suggested.

"Not to mention that you all have lessons to teach tomorrow. Well, in a few hours anyway." Apollo filled in. I still had more to say though, but...

"Annabeth, come on. They are right. Besides we can always yell at them tomorrow." Percy said wrapping his arms around me. I hate it when he gets reasonable...

"Fine..." I said huffing and the gods seemed to relax a little. "But tomorrow, you are all in for some major yelling." I filled in and saw them gulp.

"Alright... Goofs, all go to your beds... separately." Clarisse warned.

"But..." They all went to argue.

"You heard Clarisse." Jenny warned.

"Go to your rooms now." Thalia said.

"And if we find you sneaking in each other's room, there will be consequences." I finished.

"But mom..." Alex pleaded holding onto Ben.

"No buts, young lady. Do you really want to piss off your mother?" Percy asked looking in her eyes. We all knew she couldn't resist that look of her father's. Hardly anyone could.

"Okay, okay, but dad, stop looking at me like that." She said burying her face in Ben's chest as we laughed.

The others said their good nights to the gods and then we all headed back to our homes. Soon, I was lying in my bed in my husband's arms worrying about our son's future. He just came up against one of the most dangerous being in the world and won. But there are so many other... Will he come across them? If he does, will he overpower them? I can only hope that with Melanie and the rest by his side, he will. But that could be just wishful thinking...

**There you have it... I think it's a little longer than the last. It definitely is more fluffy, but fluff is needed from time to time... And for the next couple of chapters (don't know how many), the main thing will be getting Liam to trust his family once again... Let's see how he will do that...**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	12. Underwater

**Chapter 12: Underwater**

**Liam's POV**

When I woke up and saw the way Melanie and I were lying, I couldn't help the smile that formed in my face. Her head was still on my chest and she had hitched her good leg over my own. If I could wake up everyday to that sight and feeling, I would die a happy man. There was no way I would leave that bed until she told me to, unlike I did the day before. This time I just relaxed and my hands drew patterns in her lower back as she slept peacefully. Half an hour after I had opened my eyes I felt her stir and the next moment she looked up. When she saw me there, she flashed me a smile and I did the same thing.

"Good morning, beautiful." I said never averting my eyes from hers. She grabbed the back of my head, pulled my face down to hers gently and kissed me.

"It really is." She said and buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"How was your sleep? No bad dreams, I hope." I said kissing the top of her head.

"No bad dreams at all. Not after you came at least." She said against my skin.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked stroking her hair absentmindedly.

"Yeah, but not now... I just want to lie in your arms..." She trailed off.

"Whatever you want, baby girl." I said. That was all I wanted too. Have her in my arms was my paradise. That's what I wanted to do for the rest of the day. But of course that was all wishful thinking. Amy walked in the next moment and smiled at our stance.

"Seems like you two had a good night's sleep. After the nightmare at least..." She said approaching Melanie's bed.

"How couldn't we?" I asked yawning.

"HE TALKS!" Amy exclaimed happily.

"Of course he talks, Amy..." Melanie said turning so she could look at my aunt.

"No... I mean he talks to us. You're the only person he has spoken to since you came back." She answered and I looked away. But Melanie wouldn't have that. She grabbed me by the chin and turned me to her.

"Why haven't you talked to them, Liam?" She asked seriously.

"You know why." I simply answered. "And I did talk to you, Amy."

"True... but your only responds were yes, no or maybe." She said sitting at the bottom.

"It's better than nothing." I said sitting up.

"True again. Your uncle wants to talk to you by the way..." She said.

"Which one?" I asked raising my eye-brows.

"Head down the beach and you'll see." She answered checking on Melanie's leg, who had now sat up.

"Ohhh... By the way.. how could he be hating my dad's guts?" I asked curious...

"Ouch!" Melanie exclaimed as Amy touched her leg not so gently. "Which uncle are we talking about..?"

"One of his favourite... Liam, how would you feel towards the guy that's proof of your father's affair?" She asked.

"You got a point there..." I said after thinking about it for a few minutes. "Did he know?"

"About the prophecy?" Amy asked and I nodded. "Every god did. Some helped in your training, others observed and others, like him, tried to loosen you up. But everyone did." She answered.

"Then why should I talk to him?" I asked getting up and went to the window.

"Because he was one of the first that wanted to tell you, but your parents wanted to protect you... Come on LJ.. My brother really wants to apologize for not telling you.." She said pouting.

"Why do you have to know my soft spots?" I asked groaning.

"So we have somewhat control over you. Now go." She ordered.

"But I don't want to leave Melanie." I said.

"Amy can take care of me for a few hours.. Relax and go talk to your uncle." She said and I took my seat next to her.

"Are you sure, baby girl?" I asked looking in her eyes as she put her hand in the back of my head.

"I'm sure." She said and kissed me gently. "Go before I change my mind." She said and pushed me away smiling.

"Fine. But I'll be back as soon as possible." I said before going out of her room, where I found my parents, aunts and uncles.

I didn't talk to them... I just passed by them and headed for the beach. I knew my uncle wouldn't come out on the shore, so I striped to my boxers and went straight in the sea. I needed to feel the water on my muscles, so I just let the sea embrace me. When that happened, my tensed muscles once again relaxed and a feeling of relief went through every part of my body. Knowing my uncle, I thought that he would probably be somewhere around here hiding so he could sneak up on me, like every other time, but I wasn't in the mood for games. Not when my favourite uncle has been lying to me for twenty years. So I just swam to our usual meeting place and sat on a rock waiting. Some mermaids passed by me giggling and when I waved at them they blushed. How that is even possible, I have no idea.

"You really shouldn't dazzle our women like that, kiddo." Someone said in front of me as a trident was shot my way. I easily grabbed it and stood up.

"And you really shouldn't attempt to kill me, uncle Triton." I said and threw him back the trident.

"Like that could ever happen. How are you squirt?" He asked me swimming my way.

"Pissed off." I answered simply.

"LJ, I'm really sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. Your mother wanted to let you have a life..." I cut him off there.

"They've been training me since I could hold a sword. Until I left for college, I haven't done anything but train. Is that really a life?" I asked.

"So what if you did know? Would your life be any different?" He asked.

"No. But I would know what I was being trained for." I answered.

"You would never let Melanie in, if you did. We both know you would want her as far away from you as possible." He said and I knew he was right.

"That was low." I replied not finding anything else to say.

"But it's the truth." He said and swam right next to me putting a hand on my shoulder. "Kiddo, I wanted to tell you, but now I'm glad I didn't. I'm glad your parents made us not tell you. I just hope that you will forgive us for that."

"But my whole life is a lie. How can I forgive you?" I asked looking away.

"Was it a lie? When you used to ask why they trained you so hard, do you remember what I told you every time?" He asked and I tried to remember.

"That they do it because I'm meant for some great things or something similar." I replied.

"Isn't your prophecy a "great thing"? We never lied to you. We just didn't go into details." Triton said smiling slightly. I knew he was right, but they kept this from me... Shouldn't I be mad?

"Why do you have to make my being mad so hard?" I asked and he chuckled.

"Because you shouldn't be mad at your parents. Especially now. And I know which of your buttons to push." He said and I huffed.

"Sometimes, I hate you so freaking much!" I exclaimed.

"Only when I annoy you to no end..." He said chuckling.

"Can I go now? I've left Melanie with Amy..." I trailed off.

"My little sister will drive her crazy... Good luck with that. By the way, Melanie is really sweet." He said smiling.

"I know, but can I go?" I asked again.

"You can, but Tyson wanted to see you, so I thought you could come back with me and then return to your girl..." He trailed off looking at me sheepishly.

"I guess I could do that." I said after thinking about it for a little while.

"Excellent." He whistled and the next moment two seahorses came into view with Triton's carriage I have been so many times on.

"Hey boys..." I said stroking their heads.

"_Good to see you again LJ._" They both thought happily.

"Squirt... The faster you get on, the faster you'll be back in the infirmary." I didn't need anything else. I "jumped" on and the boys started swimming back to the castle. The whole ride lasted only five minutes, so soon Triton and I were passing though the "gates" of the underwater castle. There, as always, a guard waited to take away Triton's carriage.

"Master Liam... It's nice to see you again, my lord." He said bowing in front of me and I nodded before he turned to Triton. "My lord, your mother would like to speak to you and your nephew."

"We'll go to her right away, but don't take away the carriage because I'll have to give him a lift back. For now, go and bring Tyson to the throne room." Triton ordered and the guard bowed before going his way. "You know you don't have to be afraid right?"

"I think so..." I trailed off as Triton chuckled.

"Come on... My mother has always had a soft spot on you and Alex, despite the fact that you're not her grandchildren." he encouraged me.

"I know, uncle, but I've seen her only a couple of times in my life. I may have been here more than once, but she was never around, when I was here." I replied.

"Don't worry. I won't let her hurt my favourite nephew..." He said giving me a noogie messing with my hair in the process.

"Did you really have to do that?" I asked trying to straighten my hair.

"Yeah..." He said and swam forward. I shook my head smiling and followed after him. Inside the throne room, we found Amphitrite, the queen of the seas and wife to my grandfather, sitting in her throne observing us. She was as beautiful as I remembered. Long black hair with two little strange looking horns just like crab claws. Triton went to stand before her, while I bowed next to him.

"Mother, you requested our presence?" He asked her formally.

"I did, my son. Liam Kai Jackson, you can stand from your bow." She said and I did just that. "You have evolved into a fine young man, Liam. When was the last time we saw each other?" She asked stepping down from her throne and swimming to us.

"A little less than ten years my lady. When I was ten years old." I answered respectfully. "And you haven't changed one bit, my lady. Beautiful as always."

"Always one to flatter women. You're a lot more like your father than I originally thought." She said hugging me.

"Ummm... thank you, I suppose." I said in a low voice.

"Mother, what did you want to discuss?" My uncle asked the queen.

"Nothing, Triton. I just wanted to see how Liam is dealing with the whole Prophecy." She said looking at me expectantly.

"I can't say that I'm pleased it was kept from me for so long, but after my talk with your son, I'm starting to understand my parents' logic." I answered formally as Triton smiled proudly.

"Don't be so full of yourself Triton." She warned my uncle.

"LJ!" we all heard the booming sound of Tyson's voice coming from our right side. My other uncle appeared just a few shorts moments after we heard him yell and he ran straight to me lifting me up and spinning me around.

"Tyson, let the boy breathe..." Amphitrite said amused.

"I'm sorry my lady." He said and put me back down. "How have you been champ?"

"I'm good, uncle Tyson. Just a little overwhelmed with everything that's happened." I answered flexing my muscles so that the blood could flow in my body once again after Tyson's TIGHT embrace.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. I..." I cut him off then.

"I've already heard of it, uncle. It's okay."

"So you forgive us?" He asked excitedly.

"I forgive you, but don't ask me to trust you yet. You have to earn it again." I said and the faces of everyone in the room fell. "You didn't really expect me to trust you again right away, did you?"

"No. But we hoped you would. Wishful thinking, huh?" Triton asked.

"Totally. Um... would you mind if I returned now?" I asked.

"Do you really have to?" Tyson asked pouting.

"The boy misses his girlfriend. Let him go." Amphitrite said winking at me.

"Thank you my lady." I said despite my surprise.

"You're welcome Liam. Now Triton, why don't you give your nephew a "lift" back?" The queen asked her son.

"Of course mother. Come on squirt." Triton said and dragged me outside. The ride back was as quick as the always. Five minutes and we were back in our usual place. He let me get off and just as I was about to swim back up, he grabbed my wrist. "Hey kiddo... show your parents you forgive them. They've been a wreck all these hours."

"Okay, I will. But please, don't push me." I said turning my gaze away from him.

"I'm not trying to push you. I just can't see my family so wrecked." He said forcing me to look at him. "Just try to understand them. Okay, squirt?"

"Yeah, uncle. Thanks." I said flashing him a smile.

"No problem. See you later." He said and left.

I resurfaced and went to where I had put my clothes. After I got dressed, I ran as fast as my legs could take me back to the infirmary, where my family still was. They all looked at me longingly except for my mother, who had the most desperate look I had ever seen. I was about to pass by her again without any signs of affection, but the I remembered Triton's request and hugged her tight. She returned the embrace with just as much force.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I just wanted to..." I cut her off.

"I know what you wanted, I can somewhat understand it, but don't ask me to trust you right away, mom. You have been keeping this from me for way too long." I said pulling back to look at her and she nodded.

"I'm sorry too, big brother." Alex said coming out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around both me and our mother or at least she tried.

"Do I really need to say that I'm sorry too, champ?" My dad asked smiling and effectively wrapped his arms around us all.

"Hey Jacksons!" Amy yelled from behind us, so we turned around to look at her. "It's really cute to see you reconnect, but there is an eager hurt girl in there that wants her man."

"Go to your girlfriend, baby." My mom said kissing my cheek. "We'll get your trust back. One way or the other."

"Well, for now, I'm going to my girlfriend." I said and ran inside. I went in her room and when she looked up noticing that it was me, she smiled brightly. "How's my girl?" I asked sitting next to her.

"Better now that her baby boy is here. How did it go with Triton?" She asked burying her face in the crook of my neck.

"Pretty good..." I started and then told her about my conversation with my uncle, my going to my grandfather's castle, meeting Amphitrite after ten years, Tyson and everything else. We just kept talking and talking until we once again fell asleep in each other's arms.

**We're really sorry for the little delay, but there was a little problem we had to deal with. We hope that the chapter was worth your wait. Too sleepy, so that's just about it. Good night guys (at least for us)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	13. Temper

**Chapter 13: Temper**

**Melanie's POV**

**two weeks later**

The past two weeks have been really pleasurable and boring at the same time. On the one hand, I had the full and undivided attention of Liam Kai Jackson, sleeping and waking up in his arms, talking to him all day about nothing at all and generally being with him. I also had frequent visits from everyone else, but mostly it was just the rest of the crew and the parents. Amy and John were the only ones Liam trusted enough to let them stay with me when he wasn't there, so I also spent quite some time with them and little David when Liam went for his usual swim of the day.

Things with Liam's trust to his family haven't showed any improvement, but at least he's now talking to the others. It wasn't much, but it surely was better than nothing. The ones he exchanged most words with were his parents and especially his mom. Probably because he could see how much of a wreck she was and the fact that he was such a mama's boy. His interaction with the others was mostly like this: they asked questions and he answered as short and quick as possible. But he talked to them so they should be thankful for that after all the secrets they've been keeping from him.

Another thing that hasn't improved is my sleep. For each and every one of the fourteen nights that have passed, there has been at least one time I would wake up screaming. It didn't matter if Liam had his arms around me or not, but it sure helped to calm me down when I was awake. I still hadn't told him about my dream in detail and I knew it bugged him to no end, so I would have to tell him soon enough. I could even tell him today.

"Mel... Baby!" I heard someone yell as they shook me. When I opened my eyes, I found a really worried Liam looking at me with concern.

"What happened?" I asked yawning. My throat was sore like I had been screaming again.

"You were shaking and yelling at someone not to kill someone else." He said kissing my forehead. In that moment I decided that I should tell him of my continuous nightmare.

"It was you." I simply said.

"What do you mean it was me?" He asked.

"It was you that I didn't want them to kill." I answered grabbing his head and kissed him.

"What are you talking about baby?" He asked once we pulled back but rested our foreheads against each other's.

"My nightmare." I replied still finding it hard to get into the details.

"Are you ready to talk about it?" He asked caressing my cheek.

"I think I am." I said looking away.

"So...?" He trailed off expecting me to go on.

"I'm just going to blurt it out and I want no interruptions. It's already hard to talk about it." I said as he turned my head to him and nodded.

"I promise that I'll try not to interrupt." He said smiling.

"Okay. Well, it's always the same dream in different locations. The main thing is that there is you, Abby, Owen, Alex, Ben, Amanda, Mike and I always fighting off hordes of monsters. We're all back to back easily pushing them off and then I start having these weird thoughts of what would happen if I joined them. In those thoughts, I could stop them from hurting you and possibly prevent them from attacking anyone all together. As I keep debating with myself, a man in black appears from somewhere above us whether it's a hill or a building or whatever." He cut me off then even though I had told him not to.

"Sorry for interrupting, but do you know who that man is?" He asked and I could practically see the wheels turning in his brain.

"I'm sure I have seen him before, but I just can't remember. The thing with him is that when he appears, a voice in my head starts encouraging me to join the monsters. After a few minutes I do and try to turn the monsters away from you since you don't follow my example but the monsters keep coming out of nowhere and that man comes o me saying "thank you" and patting my back. Soon after, all of you are overpowered by their numbers and are executed right in front of me. You are always the last and when they murder you, I start screaming and wake up." I finished looking away from him.

"I can't believe I was so stupid." He said and I turned to look at him again raising my eye-brows.

"Why would you say that baby?" I asked confused.

"It's not Selene. It's that guy you've been seeing." He said but I still didn't understand a word.

"What are you talking about Liam?" I asked again.

"The leader. It's not Selene. It could never be her. Fuck! Why didn't I see this before?" He wondered aloud getting up. "It's only natural. She would always be guarded if she was. She would stay safe and sound in her fortress having monsters and other such creatures doing her dirty job. She's just a pawn in someone else's chess board." He said and I finally caught up.

"But then how do you explain Lyssa and the park incident? She made Lyssa take us out." I said.

"No. She turned you against me knowing that you were the only thing tying me to the Olympians in that moment. If I lost my trust in you, I would definitely have joined them. Lyssa came after me only when I charged. And Selene didn't say "join me" but "join _us_". If she was the leader she would never have said that. She fucking works for someone and we don't know who that is." He yelled the last part and an slight earthquake occurred.

"Liam, the dream could mean nothing." I said mostly trying to convince myself.

"What happened?" Annabeth appeared in the door frantic. But Liam ignored her for the moment.

"Such dreams never mean nothing! Now to mention that the guy in black, who probably is the leader, has a connection to you somehow." He yelled and there was another earthquake.

"ARES!" Annabeth exclaimed as Liam's figure got surrounded by water.

"What happened Annabeth?" Ares asked getting in the room. "Shit..." he trailed off when he saw my baby.

"Take him to the training ground now and make sure no one is in a close proximity." His mother said and the god of war nodded before grabbing Liam by the shirt and dragging him out of the room.

"How can you order the gods around like this?" I asked Annabeth amazed.

"I know it may sound like a blasphemy, but to me they're not just Gods. They are my family. Of course, they're everyone's parents, uncles, aunt and all, but because of our previous trials and now with Liam, we have formed a different kind of relationship. We're much closer than others. So it's not that I order the gods around, I request their help a little more forcefully." She said smiling. "Now get dressed so we can go to the training ground and you can see exactly how Liam blows off some steam."

"Okay. Just give me a minute." I said and got up quickly, but stumbled. Thankfully Annabeth caught me before I hit the ground.

"Wow, easy there... It may have healed, but your leg's still a little weak." She said straightening me up.

"Thanks." I said blushing and went to get dressed.

"No problem. What dreams was Liam talking about?" She asked with the same look of curiosity Liam sometimes gave me.

"How about I tell you at the training ground. I'm sure everyone will be here and I don't want to repeat it more than once..." I trailed off looking down. I heard her approaching me and then I saw her feet right in front of me.

"It's okay..." She said lifting my head so she could see me. "Let's go."

Since my leg was a little weak, Annabeth and I walked side by side in case I have another stumble. We walked slowly to the training ground where I could hear cheers before we even got there. When we did though, I could easily say that the WHOLE camp was around the arena and the ground was still shaking. We approached the others and before I could see what was happening in the arena, the parents and the kids asked me to tell them about my dreams. I did and went through the crowd to see what was happening leaving the others dumbfounded and deep in thought. Whatever I had imagined happening in the training grounds could never be compared to what was actually happening.

Liam was fighting with not one, not two, but three Gods at the same time. Ares, Poseidon and Hephaestus were giving him one hell of a challenge. Ares was battling him one on one, while Poseidon and Hephaestus kept firing water and fire blasts respectively at him. Liam himself was wrapped around a ball of water as he kept blocking his uncle's strikes. The God of war of relentless. He seemed to use all of his strength in his strikes, but Liam stood strong. Ares managed to give him a cut, but just as Ares's blade sliced through Liam's skin, with a twist on my baby's part, the sword of the God of war went flying into a tree and everyone stopped for a second.

"Uncle... if you don't want me to erupt you gotta give me something more!" Liam said and went towards his grandfather while Ares went to get his sword.

"Unbelievable, right?" I heard my mother say beside me.

"Mom..." I trailed off not knowing what to say. She was the one to hate Liam.

"Just so you know, the only reason I don't like your relationship is because of what lies ahead of him. I don't want you to be in such danger." She said looking at how Liam was now blocking Poseidon and Ares's strikes in addition to Hephaestus's fireballs.

"I love him and he never seizes to amaze me." I said smiling at how easy it seemed for him to fight three Gods.

"Melanie, he is right you know. Your dreams could never mean nothing. There is a connection between you and the man in your dreams." She said looking at me.

"What do you mean mom? Do you who he is?" I asked now looking at her with curiosity.

"I do, but I can't tell you. There is something that forbids me from doing so and unfortunately the other Gods can't help you find out who he is. He is someone way before their time. Your godly siblings know too, but they can't say either. Try to think how he could be connected to you and you'll know who he is. That's all the help I can offer, unfortunately." She said looking at me sheepishly.

"Why can't you tell me?" I asked getting a little angry myself.

"Because of a pact made between us... We can never betray each other to the Olympians." She answered.

"But with you as my mother, I'm not considered an Olympian." I pointed out.

"You are. They have accepted me in their kingdom and all of my children since then are considered Olympian offspring. Which includes you, so I can't tell you and neither can your siblings. You have to think. If you realize who he is it will all be easier for you and Liam." She said.

"Have I ever seen him?" I asked her.

"You have. When you were born. But now I have to go. I have already said too much." She said before leaving. I huffed and turned my gaze to the arena again. Liam was still battling with the three Gods, but now his water shield was gone and he seemed to be smiling, which meant that he returned back to his usual self and was now playing with the Gods rather than blowing off some steam.

"Enough!" Athena yelled and the three gods and Liam stopped abruptly. "Liam is calm now, so you can stop."

"But why Athena? We're having fun." Ares said as Liam threw some water in his face. "Who did that?" He asked as Poseidon and Liam pointed at each other innocently. Then Hephaestus shot a little fireball at Ares's ass making him jump in surprise. "Hey, stop it!"

"I didn't do anything." Hephaestus said lifting his hands up innocently. How could the Gods be such goofs.

"Don't look at me so innocently Hephaestus. I know the fireball is your fault, I just don't know whose fault was the water ball." He said looking at Poseidon and Liam closely.

"But I am, Ares." he answered.

"Innocent my ass." He replied and turned around. None of us couldn't help laughing at that sight.

"Ummm... innocent your naked ass, uncle." Liam said chuckling. Seems like the fireball totally burnt the cloth exposing Ares's rear to the world.

"You'll pay for this Hephaestus." Ares said before disappearing.

"Hephaestus... You shouldn't have done that..." Athena said trying to suppress her giggle.

"I couldn't help it." He answered as my baby came to me. When he did, everything and everyone else were ignored.

"How's your temper now baby?" I asked caressing his cheek.

"It would've been better if I was wrong." he said turning his head to kiss my palm.

"Unfortunately you are hardly ever wrong and this isn't one of those few times." I said smiling weakly.

"How come you're sure now?" He asked confused.

"My mom told me." I answered.

"Oh okay then. I have to go home and take shower. What are you going to do till I get back?" He asked.

"I'll just go to my room. I haven't been there in two weeks after all." I said smiling.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked concerned.

"I'm gonna be fine. It's not going to be the first time I'm alone at my room." I said giggling.

"I guess you have." He said and kissed me.

"Go take a shower. You stink." I said still giggling.

He rolled his eyes at me and ran towards his house. The other three couples were a little busy making out so because I didn't want to interrupt them, I walked back to my cabin silently. Last time I walked in my cabin, I had Liam's hands all over me and his lips attached to my neck. Just thinking about how bittersweet that night was. On the one hand, Liam and I found out about the prophecy and then the incident with Selene and Lyssa. On the other though, I spend a few amazing hours having my way with my boy.

I slowly walked in the cabin, where I found it was unusually quite. It was just three pm, so there should be someone in there. But there wasn't. Although the sun was high up on the crystal clear sky, in there there was a hint of darkness. Like something was lurking around. Thinking that it was one of my siblings trying to scare me, I shrugged it off and went up to my room, where I found a guy in black looking around. He was with his back at me so I couldn't see his face.

"Excuse me. You're in my room." I said once I was in.

"Hello Melanie..." That voice sent a chill through my entire body.


	14. The master

**Chapter 14: The master**

**Melanie's POV**

"Hello Melanie." That voice sent a chill through my entire body.

"Do I know you?" I asked although I knew him all too well. He had been torturing me with the murders of my friends and love in my nightmares for the past two weeks. The moment he spoke the whole room turned dark. There was no trace of light. Like his sole existence sucked it in.

"I see your mother didn't break the pact... Shame. It would be the perfect excuse to crush the little kingdom you are part of." He said and turned around for the first time. I couldn't see his face, only his mouth, because of the hood his was wearing as always, but this time for some strange reason I could see his eyes. His bright blue eyes were shining the little light left in the room.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that you cost me the alliance of the great male. If it hadn't been for you, he would join me and your sister would still be alive." He said smiling menacingly.

"Liam would never side with you." I said even though I knew that when I had arrived at the Balto's statue, Liam was really close to joining them.

"Even you know that's not true. If you hadn't come to the central park, the great male would now be on a Olympian killing spree." He said calmly.

"He wouldn't now though." I said confidently.

"Are you sure about that? Are you sure that your beloved boyfriend won't side with me if you're in danger?" He asked and I gasped. "Thought so." He said and advanced towards me.

"Stay back..." I heard someone say as four figures stood in front of me. I was too stunned to move a single muscle.

"Nyx! How nice of you to join us. You've brought some of your kids too. Eris, Nemesis and Hypnos, good to see you again." He said and too a bow.

"I haven't broken the pact and neither have my children, so you can't directly hurt any of the Olympian offspring." My mother said in a low voice.

"But I wasn't going to hurt her. I just wanted to take my own niece for a walk and talk to her." He said pushing back his hood. His hair was jet black like mine, my mother's and siblings'. He also said that I'm his niece. What the hell?

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Nemesis asked.

"Just leave our sister alone." Eris filled in.

"Or we will tell him." Hypnos challenged and for one second, his eyes were consumed by fear. Tell who?

"You wouldn't dare break the pact." He said composing himself again.

"Why not? Liam is the only one strong enough to come up against you. If we told him who you are and what you want to do to Melanie, I'm sure he would try to kill you no matter what." My mother said. So this man that claimed to be my uncle was afraid of Liam?

"If you betrayed me to the Olympians, I would unleash my army and you know that." He said smiling menacingly.

"If the Gods combine with the young heroes, we can handle it. I'm wondering how you'll deal with Liam though. I would be afraid if I were you. The nine protectors have trained him well. He's indestructible. Not to mention that you need him, if you want to proceed with your plan. He's the only one that can give you the throne of Zeus." My mother said.

"Everyone has a flaw, my dear sister. A weakness. His temper and your daughter are my ticket to the throne." He said.

"And your passion is your flaw. You have called yourself Melanie's uncle and me your sister. Liam will figure out who you are without me telling him, so the pact is still intact, my brother, so you can't unleash your army." My mother said and my siblings smiled as my uncle's eyes went wide and he pursed his lips in anger.

"He'll never find me and even if he does, he won't dare to confront me there." He said as the door burst open and Liam came inside frantic.

"You underestimate him." My mother managed to say before he disappeared and the room was filled with the afternoon light.

"Who the fuck was that?" Liam asked coming to me.

"That was the man in Melanie's dreams, Liam." Eris answered.

"You know who he is, don't you?" LJ asked looking at my mother and siblings as I snuggled in his arms trying to forget what just happened.

"We do." Nemesis simply answered without telling him anything further.

"So...?" He trailed off.

"You can find that one out yourself now. Think of everything you know about our history. Who is my brother Liam?" My mother asked. I still couldn't get a single word out.

"Brother? Um..." Liam trailed off thinking.

"Think Liam." Hypnos urged him on.

"I'm thinking okay. Just give me a second. Brother of Nyx. Son of Chaos... Um... Eros is one, but I doubt that was him." He said mostly to himself.

"You're getting somewhere." Eris said, but then it hit me.

"Erebus..." I whispered so low but I doubt anyone heard me. But I was wrong.

"Exactly Melanie." My mother exclaimed.

"Erebus? As in the incarnation of darkness?" LJ asked.

"Yes, Liam." Nemesis confirmed.

"So if I fight that guy, I might be in the dark..." he trailed off again.

"You really have to thank your 'blindness' then." Hypnos said chuckling.

"Why would you say that, brother?" I asked turning in Liam's arms.

"Because of my increased myopia, I've had to learn how to fight without seeing. So I can fight him without the need to see. I can keep my eyes closed through the entire thing if I want." Liam answered.

"So the nine knew?" It was the first question to pop in my mind when he finished. Both of us turned to my mother and siblings.

"They didn't. They just had to make sure he would be ready for anything he comes up against. When he developed such a high degree of myopia, they had to think of something that would enable him to overcome that disadvantage." Eris explained.

"But now I just love fighting with my eyes closed." Liam said chucking. "So Selene works for someone that is afraid of me...?"

"You should underestimate him like he did, Liam. He knows your weaknesses." Nyx warned.

"My only weakness is Melanie..." He stiffened when the words left his mouth. "You're not going anywhere without me, understood?"

"Understood and I wouldn't have it any other way." I said kissing his jaw.

"Go to the pavilion. It's time for lunch for you. Now you know, we can inform the other Gods of my brother's wish to overpower the Gods through you Liam." Nyx said smiling.

"We will mom." I said and went to leave but Liam wouldn't budge.

"Thank you for protecting her." He said to my mother and siblings and they smiled at him.

"Just take care of her." My mother said before they all disappeared leaving me and Liam alone.

"I don't care what you say, but you're not leaving my eye-sight ever again." He said determined.

"What about when you sleep?" I asked.

"You'll be trapped in my arms." He answered wrapping his arms around me tight.

"When you train?" I asked as my hands locked behind his neck. He thought about it for a second before he could answer.

"I'll have the others look after you." He said nodding to himself.

"So now you trust them?" I asked rubbing the back of his scalp.

"A little... But let's not push it." He said looking away.

"I'm glad they are gradually regaining your trust." I said and kissed him lightly.

"Can we go now...?" He said and I could see that he was a little uncomfortable with the subject so I didn't push him.

"Sure." I said and kissed his chest before we walked out of my room and towards the pavilion. We didn't talk during our walk, but I knew that the his mind was racing, trying to find ways to deal with Erebus. Now that I knew who he was, I could finally understand why I had this connection to him. Why I could see his plan for us. But there was something that wasn't adding up. Mom said that Erebus needed Liam to overpower the Gods. Why did I always see him execute Liam in my nightmares...?

"Are you alright, Mel?" He asked me bringing me back to now.

"Yeah. Just thinking." I admitted.

"You seemed to be in really deep thought. What were you thinking?" He asked again.

"You, me, my mom, Erebus, the others... It's all so complicated..." I said.

"I know, but let's stop thinking about it for a while..." He suggested.

"But you're not able to stop thinking." I pointed out.

"True, but you are. So stop thinking about it." He ordered. We had already arrived at the pavilion so we went to his table, where Alex, Ben, Abby, Owen, Amanda and Mike were already seated. He sat me down and then went to get us something to eat. I could see my mother talking to all the gods who immediately turned their heads to Liam. He quickly came back though and wrapped his arms protectively around me, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Alex.

"Okay, what happened with you two?" She asked seriously.

"Nothing much. We just found out that Erebus wants to overpower the gods, he needs me to succeed and the only way to get me on his side is by abducting Melanie. Like I said not much." Liam said shrugging while the others looked at us wide-eyed.

"I think you shouldn't have blurted all that out in one sentence." I said placing my hands on his arms that were still wrapped around my waist.

"Erebus? As in..." Alex started.

"As in the incarnation of darkness and my uncle." I answered.

"What are you going to do?" Mike asked Liam as he kissed my shoulder.

"What do you want me to do, little brother?" Liam asked and the others gasped.

"Yes, he's gradually trusting you again, but don't push it." I said before they said anything and they nodded.

"Are you going after him?" Amanda asked worried.

"Not now. I'll figure something out, but for now I'm staying here." He announced and everyone relaxed.

"How can you be so calm about it, LJ?" Owen asked and the others nodded.

"Because I know who my 'enemy' is." He answered. That's when the parents approached us.

"Erebus? A primordial god? Why didn't we think of that?" Annabeth asked, but she didn't seem so worried.

"No idea mom, but we didn't. At least now we know what we're up against." Liam said again.

"And the pact is still intact, which means he can't unleash the most terrible of monsters." My mom said coming close.

"But we still don't know where he is or what his plan is." Mike said.

"Unfortunately I do." Liam said and we all turned to look at him.

"Liam, you're not going in there unless you really have to." My mother said cautiously.

"But I do have to, my lady." He insisted.

"When I told my brother that he underestimates you, I didn't mean that you have to go in there. At least not right away." She pushed.

"If I do go down there, it will all soon be over. Either I'll be victorious and we can go back to our everyday lives or Erebus's era will start. But either way, it will all be over." He said in determination.

"What place are you talking about?" Annabeth asked confused.

"The one place none of you dares enter, but always fascinated me." He said.

"NO! Absolutely not!" Percy yelled. "You're not going in there..."

"Dad, I'm not asking for your permission. I will go one way or the other." Liam said.

"Could you tell us about the place now?" Alex asked evidently getting angrier by the minute. But she was ignored.

"At least give it a few days. Please..." Annabeth pleaded knowing she couldn't change his mind. If only I knew what they were talking about though..

"Fine. But then I'm going..." He trailed off, stood us up and we left.

**Missed us? We definitely have. What's the "place" in your opinion? It's not so difficult to realize if you're careful. Well anyway...**

**Love you all!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	15. Damn you Hera

**Hello supporters of my sister's stories. I'm that annoying twin she talked about a few chapters before. The twin who got his eye black for deleting a half chapter. Some of you may know of my pathetic situation and this is my sister's way of making me feel better. I was really into these two stories and because I couldn't wait until she typed this, I offered to do it. I also got the lovebirds to let me respond to your reviews. If you review that is.**

**Chapter 15: Damn you Hera**

**Erebus's POV**

"You bloody idiot!" He yelled at me when I returned to my fortress. "How could you let her trick you like that? If it wasn't for your passion, Nyx would have to betray us to the Olympians and we could be freed."

"I'm sorry. I..." He cut me off then.

"Your apologies don't matter, Erebus. We now can't free either the titans or ourselves. Not to mention that is the great male is as well trained as everyone says he is, he'll soon be at our doorstep." He said lifting his hands up in desperation.

"He wouldn't dare. Even the Gods are too terrified to enter your domain, brother." I said through gritted teeth.

"As Nyx said, you underestimate him. Liam has always been fascinated by my domain. In fact, if it wasn't for Hades a few years back, he would've entered." He said and I gasped.

"You mean that our sister wasn't blofing?" I asked surprised.

"Nyx never blofs, Erebus. You should know that." He said.

"How do you know that he was going to enter and about his fascination?" I asked curious after a couple of minutes.

"The same way you know when someone is surrounded by darkness. I could feel him approaching. I could also feel it whenever he was thinking about it. It was like he was calling me." He answered truthfully.

"What do we do if he decides to come looking for me?" I asked getting more nervous by the moment.

"Honestly?" He asked and I nodded. "Pray that he's stopped by the inmates. The Olympians locked them up here so I'm sure they'll be more than glad to get back at the gods by killing one of their offspring." He said smiling menacingly. He had a plan...

"But brother, Liam Kai Jackson isn't one to be messed with. You know what he did to Lyssa." I said sitting down.

"Erebus, I do know. But they don't. They have no clue what's been going on in the world ever since they were dumped down here." He said but stopped to think about something. "On second thought, they know some things, but that's only because of Kronos. Now that he's been torn apart into pieces, nobody can tell them of Liam's power."

"That may be, but we still want him alive. He's the only one that can give us the throne of Olympus. I said trying to reason with him.

"True. I guess I'll have to tell them not to kill him then." He said mostly to himself.

"Do you think they'll listen? Especially Typhon? Liam's father is the reason behind his imprisonment once again. Typhon will want to kill the boy." I said.

"You have a point there, brother. But like you said only a few minutes ago, Liam Kai Jackson isn't one to be messed with." He quoted me and continued. "He'll find a way to stay alive" My brother said smiling again. That's when we heard a loud scream of desperation.

"Is our "guest" still having problems adjusting to his accommodations?" I asked chuckling.

"Serves him right. He'd better get used to it, because that's what it's going to be from now on for him and the gods." He said looking at the direction of the screams.

"It's still hard to believe that no one has noticed his absence." I said with a definite look of disbelief on my face.

"They're probably relieved that he hasn't bothered Liam. But enough about him. You need to focus on your part of this. Since your troops have failed to get Liam on our side, we need that niece of ours to force him to join us." My brother said.

"I know. But I won't be able to go anywhere near her now that Liam knows about my being after her." I said looking at him apologetically.

"He would never take her with him on this journey here. He may be fascinated by my domain, he's no fool. He would never risk her life by letting her join him, which mean that she'll stay back and that's when you need to strike. This whole operation is useless without her." He said seriously.

"I know and I'll make sure to get her. So you will send the inmates to get him, won't you...?" I asked.

"Precisely my brother." he said smiling menacingly again.

* * *

**Liam's POV**

**a week later**

A week has passed since Erebus's "visit". My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all knew where I needed to go. The ones that didn't were my siblings and Melanie. To be honest, I didn't want to tell them, because they'd want to join me in that journey, but I didn't want them to come. I couldn't risk their lives. Especially Melanie's. I would never forgive myself if something happened to them. Any of them. So I made the ones that knew keep their mouths shut. Surprisingly, they did.

My siblings never even attempted to ask me anything so as not to push me. They had yet to regain my trust after all. Or at least so they thought. But Melanie was a different matter all together. Whenever we were alone she would always find a way to ask me. It was never straight-forward though. She could also be very persuasive if she wanted to, because there were times that I almost caved in. But at the last minute, right before I blurt it out, I would stop. This was one of those times.

"Why can't you tell me?" She whined running her fingers over my chest. I was about to slip and tell her where I had to go again, but at the last minute stopped. We were down at the beach lying on a towel having just had a swim.

"Because I don't want you to come." I said kissing her forehead.

"But why LJ? I want to be there for my boyfriend." She said pouting. I hate whenever she does that, because most of the times it works and I need to stay in control.

"Because I don't want you to be in danger. You have absolutely no idea what lies down there." I said hugging her close.

"I would, if you told me where that place is." She said sweetly. Focus LJ!

"I'm not telling you and you'll stay here. Are we clear?" I practically ordered.

"What if I sneak out like I did last time?" She challenged.

"You don't even know where I'm going." I said chuckling.

"Your mom will tell me." She said proudly.

"Sorry honey, but she won't." I said smiling as she sat up.

"And why is that mister?" She asked playfully poking my side.

"Because I made all of them swear on the river Styx that they won't." I said and her face fell. But the next moment her eyes lit up and I knew I was in trouble.

"You'll pay for this." She said and started tickling me. I started laughing hysterically and thrashing around as she straddled me tickling me even harder that before. That was until I flipped us over and started tickling her while also kissing her neck. The sounds she produced made me slime against her skin. They were something between a moan and a laughter, but totally different that both. They were totally unique and I loved it. When I was fully satisfied, I stopped tickling her and put my chin on her chest.

"How was I supposed to pay exactly?" I asked kissing the space between her breasts lightly as she giggled.

"How can you make it so impossible for me to get mad at you for even a second?" She asked stroking my cheek lovingly.

"Part of my charm." I said grinning widely.

"You're so full of yourself." She said smacking my back playfully.

"Tell me something I don't know." I said scoffing.

"I love you." her response made me smile.

"I love you too, Mel. But I told you to tell me something I don't know." I said still smiling. She looked behind me and spoke.

"Your grandfather and Hades are right behind you." When the words left her mouth, I automatically got up to look at them.

"So the trouble has started?" I asked as I knew that they understood what I was talking about.

"Well... yeah, but do you really have to go down there?" My grandfather asked with worry evident in his eyes.

"Grandpa, you know the answer to that. It's not like I want to go down there." I said and they both raised their eye-brows at me. "Okay, maybe I do. But not for the reason I now have to."

"That's more believable." They both said.

"So you have to go now, don't you?" Melanie asked wrapping her arms around my waist from behind and kissed my back.

"I do. But soon everything will be over." I replied turning around to hug her properly.

"I just hope this doesn't end badly." She said.

"I've trained my whole life for this. It won't end badly." I said in determination although I knew that there was a great chance of my failure.

"Please let me come." She said looking up at me with tears in her eyes. I once again _almost_ gave in. Almost being the keyword.

"I can't Melanie. It's too dangerous." I said and turned around to leave.

"I'll meet you outside your house." Hades said and I nodded.

"Liam, wait!" Melanie yelled coming up behind me and I stopped turning to face her. "Since you're not letting me come, at least let me join you until you leave." She pleaded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I said, kissed her and wrapped my arms around her as we walked to my house.

Half an hour later, I had taken a shower, eaten and equipped myself with my weapons. Achilles was always on my finger of my right hand, Ancile always on my left arm, but this time I also brought two daggers with me. One placed on my side and the other in my shoe. I didn't plan on using them to fight, but they were really good for throwing. When was ready, I stepped out of the house with Melanie clinging on me and we were faced with not only Hades, as I had expected, but all nine of my protectors and teachers plus my entire family. My mother was the first to come forth and envelope me and Melanie in a tight hug.

"Please don't go down there, baby." She pleaded crying.

"Mom, I can't NOT do this and you know that. Now everyone, please let me get this over with." I yelled before anyone else followed my mother's example.

"How can you be so sure of yourself? You might fail." Hera said coming out of nowhere.

"I'm not sure of myself and I know that failure is one possible outcome. But I believe in myself and in the training I've received from the nine gods of Olympus that have always been by my side. I'll do my best and see where that takes me." I said and my protectors smiled at me.

"For the sake of us all, I hope you are successful in your endeavors." The queen of the Gods said causing many to gasp.

"Did you just wish me luck, my lady?" I asked to make sure I heard right.

"I did young demigod. You'll need lots of luck since you're going to the depths of Tartarus." She said and I felt Melanie go limp in my arms, while the eyes of my siblings went wide. DAMN YOU HERA!

**Oh.. I forgot to mention that I'm not the one that wrote this. I just typed it. Bye guys. * Waves ***

**Mike**


	16. Going in

**Hi again! * Waves * It's Mike again and I just found out pouting can get my sister to let me type her chapter again. Before I do though, having read it I have to warn you and say that the lovebirds are really evil. You'll see why. They also demanded that I thank you all on behalf of them for reaching 201 reviews! **

**Chapter 16: Going in**

**Liam's POV**

"You can't do this! It's suicide." Melanie said as I laid her on my bed. After Hera made my destination known, my girlfriend fainted and I almost didn't catch her. Almost. As I was carrying her back inside though, she woke up and started saying that I couldn't go down there as she was doing now.

"Melanie, I told you that it was dangerous." I said sitting next to her. Thankfully the others left us alone in my room giving us some privacy.

"But this isn't dangerous. This is SUICIDE, Liam." She yelled with tears in her eyes.

"Do you really think I want to leave you behind or even go into the depths of Tartarus?" I asked stroking her cheek also wiping away her tears in the process. "I admit that I have always been curious about it and fascinated by it, because even the Gods are afraid to enter, but now I just don't want to go in there." I said and leaned in to kiss her tenderly. She grabbed my face and didn't let me pull back. Instead, she kept our forehead pressed together stroking my cheeks.

"Then don't go. Stay with me and hold me close, because now I build my world around you and I don't want to know how my life would be without you if you fail." She said and stole another kiss.

"I can't stay and do nothing. You know that because you know me." I said looking in her beautiful blue eyes. "I love you, Melanie, and I need to do this. For us, the Gods, my family and the whole world. If the future of us all depends on my one decision, shouldn't I make the right one?"

"Yeah, but..." She started but couldn't finish.

"Do you think that by staying here, your uncle's threat will go away? Someone has to go up against me and that someone happens to be me whether I like it or not. This is what I've been training all these years for."

"I know, but I'm selfish and don't want you to get hurt." She said and a few newly found tears escaped from her eyes.

"I'll try not to get hurt. But please... Promise me that you'll stay here at camp no matter what. I can't be worrying about you too." I said pouting.

"I will if you promise me something else in return. That you'll come back alive." She said rubbing the back of my head.

"I promise that I'll do everything in my power to return safe and sound. That's the best I can do." I said stealing another kiss and waited for her to talk.

"I guess that's good enough. I promise to stay at camp no matter what." She said and I flashed her a smile, which she returned.

"I have to go. Hades is still waiting for me outside. Get some sleep beautiful." I said trying to push her back, something she allowed but she took me with her. "Alex and the others will be here when you wake up."

"But I don't want to sleep." She said yawning.

"Sure you don't. Just lay here for a while then. Okay?" I asked unlocking her hands that were still in the back of my scalp.

"Okay, but I'm only doing this for you." She said and kissed me.

"Thank you." I muttered against her lips. After a few minutes she was asleep and I was free to go. I stepped out of my room, closing the door behind me as soundlessly as possible and when I turned around I found my sister looking at me with worry in her eyes. "Don't give me the whole "don't go down there" speech. Mom already did." I said seriously.

"I wasn't planning to. I know that since Melanie was unsuccessful, there is no way anyone else will change your mind." She said smiling weakly.

"Thanks... I guess." I stammered. Truth is I was completely stunned. I had expected that Alex would be on the people who would even fight me so that I don't go to Tartarus. I guess I was wrong though.

"How's your confidence big brother?" She asked wrapping her arm around my waist as we walked downstairs.

"To be honest, pretty good. Although I have a really bad feeling." I answered honestly.

"Bad feeling?" She asked even more worried than before.

"Yeah, but I'll deal with it... hopefully." I said the last part too low for her to hear. I didn't want to worry her any more than she was already. We reached the doorstep and I was sure that right behind the front door our parents, our aunts and uncles, our grandparents and our siblings stood waiting for me to arrive. I opened the door and let my sister get out first like the gentleman I am. Just as I expected they were all there trying to be brave unlike an hour ago. Thankfully, Hera was nowhere to be found, because if she was I would definitely attack her. Alex walked to Ben burrying her face in his chest as he wrapped his around her and I went to Hades.

"Ready to go, champ?" He asked trying to sound enthusiastic. Being Hades it was hard for him to be that way, but his fear and worry added to that difficulty.

"Not really, let's go." I said and got myself ready for the travel to the underworld. He grabbed my hand and the next moment we were right in front of the now sealed hole I once almost went through. It was the same hole my grandfather had opened to throw the father of all monsters after he was defeated by the Olympian Gods twenty six years ago during the Great War. The Gods had sealed it in a way that everyone could go in, but only the ones that weren't imprisoned by them could go back out, which is why most titans and the other inmates can't get out while I'll be able to.

"Are you sure about this LJ?" my uncle asked putting a hand on my shoulder.

"No, but I don't have a choice." I said and placed my hand over his.

"Be careful. The things that lie in there..." He trailed off.

"I know what and who lies in there..." I said turning to him.

"Do you have any plans in case you encounter any of them?" He asked.

"Go with the flow? I haven't encountered them and no one has any stories, so I really don't know what to expect." I replied honestly.

"I wish I could help you with that, champ." He said smiling apologetically.

"Don't worry. I'll figure something out." I said and hugged him.

"I have to go now, but you know what to do." He said when we pulled back.

"I do uncle." I said smiling.

"Okay... Good luck LJ." he said before disappearing like every God does when leaving.

"I'm gonna need a lot of that." I said to myself. "Tartarus, here I come."

"Not so fast young demigod." A voice said behind me as I walked towards the entrance. I turned around and found none other than Nyx.

"My lady.." I trailed off bowing. She may be my girlfriend's mother, but she's still a Goddess I'm not so well acquainted with so that a bow isn't needed.

"Stand from your bow, Liam." She waited until I did what I was told before continuing. "First of all, I'm glad you decided not to take my daughter with you in this journey of yours."

"I don't want any harm to come her way and she would be a major distraction." I said formally.

"A distraction?" The lady of the night asked offended

"I meant that I would worried of her well-being making it hard for me to focus on my task. I'm sorry if I offended you, my lady." I apologized.

"Oh... in that case, I'm sorry." She APOLOGIZED. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open from the surprise. "Close your mouth Liam." She said confirming my previous assumption.

"I was just surprised, my lady." I said clearing my throat and trying to compose myself. "But I'm sure you didn't just come here to tell me only that."

"And once again you're right. I can't betray my family without unleashing all of Tartarus's inmates, but I can tell you this: Erebus is the least of your problems. He's a coward hiding behind his darkness and since you can overcome the difficulty of fighting without being able to see, you'll be fine when you face him. There are others down there who are more vicious than Erebus and those are who you should be worried about." She said looking behind me at the entrance to Tartarus.

"I'll somehow handle the titans, my lady." I said trying to sound confident.

"If you remember everything you've been told, you have many more chances than you think." She said confusing me.

"What do you mean?" I asked in hope she would tell me.

"I can't tell you more without breaking the pact." She said looking at me apologetically.

"I guess I'll have to figure that one myself too..." I trailed off and the guilt in her eyes increased. "I understand completely though. We don't want the most terrible of beings to be unleashed from there." I said pointing behind me and she laughed. For some reason I wasn't surprised this time.

"Even in the most difficult of situations you always find a way to lighten up both yours and everyone else's mood. It's unbelievable." She said and I didn't quite understand what the joke was, but went with the flow.

"Well, I have to. I can't go in there if I don't." I said and she nodded.

"Go forth great male. The fate of Olympus lies upon your shoulders." She said.

"Thanks. You're really not making me nervous right now." I said sarcastically walking towards the opening as she giggled.

"Oh and Liam..." She trailed off when I was right at the opening. I looked at her and she kept on. "Make sure you remember soon and that you survive. Melanie need you and so does everyone else." She said before disappearing.

"I'll try..." I trailed off not sure if she could hear me or not and went in.

* * *

**Erebus's POV**

"He's near..." My brother said coming out of his trance. We have been waiting for the great male to make a move for a week now. We thought or better yet.. We were sure that he wouldn't take our niece with him on this trip, so we waited until he came. That's when me, Helios and Selene would strike. Also the children of Hyperion had absolutely no clue of my brother's involvement in the plans of the future. They thought it was just me...

"Then it's time I paid our little niece a visit." I said snickering.

"It is. Take your fools with you and make sure not to hurt Melanie. If Selene lays a finger on her, I will kill her." My brother threatened.

"Of course my brother." I said right before he left. "HELIOS! SELENE!" I yelled and the next moment they were knelt before me.

"You called my lord?" Helios formally addressed me.

"I did. We're going at Camp Half-Blood." I announced and they looked up surprised before lowering their heads again.

"Camp Half-Blood, master?" Selene was the one to ask.

"Yes, Selene. We'll be escorting miss Melanie Claire Carter here and she has to remain unharmed for now. Understood?" I asked and they both nodded. "Good. Now, you'll be the ones to touch her because I can't due to the ancient pact between me and my siblings. Let's go." Due to my relation Melanie I could feel where she was and I wasn't surprised when I found her in the house of the Jackson family. Liam's room specifically. We went there and found her sleeping in his bed while she was hugging his pillow tight. She just couldn't make your job any easier.

"What should we do?" Helios foolishly asked.

"Grab her and let's go back before Nyx realizes what we're about to do." I said getting a little nervous. Thankfully, the two idiots were quick and we were back at the dungeon in no time. Helios, who had Melanie in his arms, placed her gently on the mattress we had equipped her cell with and that's when she woke up.

"What the hell?" She asked trying to open her eyes. When she did they went wide. "Erebus?" She breathed looking at her surroundings.

"Hello again Melanie. I hope you find your accommodations of your liking." I said smiling. "We wish you no harm after all."

"My mother didn't break the pact so how dare you kidnap me?" She yelled coming up at the bars.

"But I didn't kidnap you. In fact, I haven't even touched you. They did." I said gesturing behind me to Selene and Helios.

"Nice to see you again daughter of Nyx... or not." Selene said.

"Bitch.." Melanie said under her breath and Selene almost attacked her, but I stopped her.

"Do I have to remind you what I said Selene?" I asked pissed off.

"Forgive me, master." She said looking down.

"Hello Melanie. I'm Helios and I'll be your guard during your stay." The son of Hyperion greeted my niece.

"Just keep the bitch away from me." Melanie commanded.

"You're quite courageous, aren't you young one?" I asked amused and amazed at the same time.

"It's not like I can do anything to change the status quo. We'll just have to wait and see what Liam will do when he finds out you have abducted me." She said and I chuckled. That's when we heard a groan coming from the cell next to hers.

"I'm really hoping he'll choose you over him. In fact that's what I'm counting on." I said as she tried to see who was the one that groaned. When she realized who it was, she gasped.

**Don't you hate them? I know I do...**

**Mike**


	17. Interesting Talks

**Hi guys! Missed us? I really hope my brother wasn't a complete ass in his replies... I doubt it, but I can hope right..? Anyway, on with the chappie!**

**Chapter 17: Interesting talks**

**Liam's POV**

When I went through the sealed hole of the Underworld, I felt like every little bit of hope and power I had in me was drained away. To make sure I still had control over the water and the ground, I tried to shield my arm with water and cause a slight quake. When I saw that I was able to do all this, I sighed in relief. I twisted my ring and Achilles was in my hand once again. I hadn't used it since slicing Lyssa's throat. I gripped it tight and proceeded further in.

Tartarus was like nothing anyone would expect it to be, or it wasn't like anything I would expect. When you hear about a place where even the Gods have never stepped into and are afraid to do so, you expect the darkest of places. Somewhere where there is no trace of life whatsoever. But what I found there was entirely different. It was like another part of the Underworld with the only difference being in the inmates. In the Underworld the souls just walked around aimlessly, but in there almost everyone was being tortured. Screams and groans filled the air making it a little difficult to concentrate.

"Hey boy..." Someone said on my right. I turned and saw a man roll a boulder up a hill. "You'd better go to your appointed guard before they make your punishment worse." He thought I was another inmate. Well I could take advantage of that, so I went with the flow.

"I will in a minute. Want some help there?" I asked putting back my ring. I had let Achilles turn into its other farm the minute he talked to me.

"Sure. Although you might get in trouble and it will roll back down when we get it up there." He said gesturing at the top of the hill. That's when it hit me.

"You're Sisyphus, aren't you?" I asked pushing the boulder with him. "The first king of Corinth who was banished here for revealing the Gods' secrets..."

"I'm glad to still be remembered." He said winking. "Although I just told Asopus that his daughter, Aegina, was taken away by a bird."

"The Gods are stupid. How were you supposed to know it was Zeus?" I asked playing along.

"My point exactly. So who are you?" He asked.

"LJ." I didn't want to blurt my name out. I didn't know how many knew about me, so I couldn't just use my actual name. I had to find another. I was supposed to be Greek, so I found a perfect name.

"LJ?" He asked expectantly.

"Leonidas Jones. Leo or LJ for short." I said further pushing up.

"Nice to meet you Leonidas Jones. So what were you banished here for anyway?" He asked. I pretended to be struggling a little bit so I had some time to think of a good enough reason.

"Lusted after a Goddess." I said remembering the story of Ixion.

"Ohhh there is another one with the same reason. Which one? The other guy I know lusted after Hera." He said as we kept pushing.

"Aphrodite. She was just too irresistible." I said knowing my aunt would never take it personally. In fact I think she would even take it as a compliment.

"Did you manage to bed her?" He asked as his eyes went wide in surprise.

"More like forced her." I said knowing his liking for violence.

"Nice... I never would have though that a boy like you would do that. Was she worth this?" He asked gesturing around with his head.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out." I said as we reached the top. Just like he said though, the boulder rolled back down.

"Damn... Even though I know it will roll back down, I still get irritated when it does." He said making his way down the hill.

"Sisyphus..?" I called after him.

"Yeah, boy?" He said turning around.

"Do you know where I can find Erebus?" I asked.

"Erebus? Why would you want to know where he is?" He asked back raising his eye-brow.

"He's my appointed guard." I lied quickly.

"Erebus was appointed as your guardian?" He asked surprised. "Well, considering what you did it should be expected. Well, I don't really know where his fortress is, but I know someone that does. Just head towards that direction and go find Ixion. He must know." He advised.

"Ixion? As the one that lusted after Hera?" I asked surprised.

"Wow... You seem to know a lot about Greek history, but yeah that one. You can't miss him. He's spinning around a winged fiery wheel." Sisyphus said. "Later Liam Jones."

After that he went down the hill to continue with his punishment and I went towards the appointed direction. I didn't draw my sword so as not to attract any unnecessary attention and kept on walking. The people I found on my way were looking at me with pity in their eyes, often wishing "good luck". I tried to stay on the low as much as I could, but it seemed I was the first "inmate" they had seen in a while cause I was on the spotlight. Thankfully, I had encountered no titan. Yet... Then I saw someone upon a spinning wheel and I knew I had found my man.

"Excuse me.." I said politely. One can never know another's reaction, so I decided to play it safe.

"Yes...?" He said looking at me. It wasn't as easy for me to look at him since he was going round and round, but I did my best. My "blindness" didn't help so much though.

"I'm Leonidas Jones. LJ for short. You're Ixion, right?" I asked even though I already knew.

"Yes. Why do you care LJ?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm just a fan if you will." I lied and his face softened.

"A fan? Of me? Why?" He asked.

"For daring to lust over the queen of the Gods. I admired your willpower, but I also took it a step further." I continued with my lie, but it really seemed to work.

"Oh... But what do you mean by taking it a step further?" He asked.

"I lusted after Aphrodite and managed to force her in my bed." I said proudly. He gaped at me for a second before quickly composing himself.

"Impressive. No wonder you're here then. What's your punishment?" He asked.

"I don't know yet. I'm supposed to find my guard before five hours have passed or my sentence and punishment will be worse than what he has planned for me. It's already been three, so I could really use some directions." It was pretty easy for me to lie convincingly for some reason.

"Minos can be really cruel, can't he?" He asked confusing me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Oh right you're a newcomer. Well, Minos almost never tells us what our punishment will be until we undergo it. In my case that didn't happen because I was already attached to this thing when I was brought here. Anyway, what directions do you need?" He asked sympathetically.

"To Erebus's fortress and generally where I can find him." I said confidently.

"That's your guard? Ouch..." He trailed off.

"With my "crime" I needed the worst right?" I asked winking.

"Well, I really hope she was worth it." He said and seemed to be daydreaming. "Well, I think you'll never make it in two hours though."

"Why is that?" I asked confused.

"From here, the way to Erebus's fortress passes through the lair of the titans and Typhon. They always like to "play" with the newcomers and I can't believe I'm saying this, but we should thank the gods that the titans can't take any size other than the human." He said and I gulped. What I was trying to avoid is unavoidable now. At least if we battle they'll have a normal size...

"You really hate the gods, don't you?" I asked.

"How can I not? They've tied me in this wheel because I found the queen of the Gods attractive and made my attraction known. If you tell them they're ugly, they curse you. If you lust over them, they curse you. What the fuck do they want us to do so that they don't curse us?" He yelled. I've always known of the cruelties the Olympians have done, but this was the first time and probably the last that I saw the effect it had on the receivers. I could actually understand both Ixion's and Sisyphus's hate towards the Gods. My protectors just lied to me and I was angry. So imagine how these two would feel after being sentenced to eternal punishment for something so subtle...

"True... How about you give me that directions so I can at least try to make it?" I suggested.

"Oh yeah, sure. Since I can't point... turn to the left." He said and I did. "A little more... not so much!.. There. Just follow that direction. You'll know you're close once you find the titans partying, cause that's what they're doing. They are the only ones that don't have any punishment for some reason. You'll be able to see Erebus's and Tartarus's fortress from there." He said confusing me again.

"Wow, wow... back up a second. His AND Tartarus's? Tartarus is a deity or something?" I asked.

"Yeah... didn't you know? Who declared Erebus as your guard?" He asked surprised. Damn! I hope I didn't blew my cover.

"Minos did." I said trying to save it.

"Hmm... Minos huh? Maybe it's because of all the fuss over a demigod..." He wondered aloud. Seems like I saved it. "So since you don't know, let me give you some information about this place. You'll spend the rest of eternity here after all. So Tartarus is indeed a primordial deity just like Erebus. This place is his domain and was named after him."

"Do the Gods know about him?" I asked. If they did and didn't tell me...

"Nah... Only us inmates get the "pleasure" of seeing him. Well you didn't, but anyway." He said ending my previous thought.

"What do you mean only us see him?" I pressed further.

"He's the one that appoints our guards. No one dares to enter his domain. Except Erebus, his brother of course." he said. When he said "brother", I remembered what Nyx had said: "_I can't betray my family without unleashing all of Tartarus's inmates... __There are others down there who are more vicious than Erebus and those are who you should be worried about._" She didn't mean the titans... She meant Tartarus. That's why she didn't confirm my sayings, but looked at me with a blank expression and continued with her advice.

"Fuss over a demigod?" I tried to push aside my worry over my discovery and questioned trying to get more information.

"Yeah... Seems like a powerful young demigod will be foolish enough to enter Tartarus's domain. The son of Perseus Jackson, who defeated Kronos twenty six years ago. I think Liam is his name." He said and I couldn't be more glad that I used a different name.

"Do you know why he would do such a foolish act?" I asked trying to seem appalled.

"No clue." He said shaking his head. Thankfully I had got used to seeing him spinning. "But what I do know is that he's screwed. Everyone keeps ignoring me when they're passing through, so I overheard Rhea and Themis say that Tartarus asked the titans and Typhon to bring the demigod to him. I don't know if they meant alive or not, but either way the kid's got it bad..." He said and I gulped. Perfect.. Now I have the titans looking for me... What else could go wrong? "Shouldn't you go now and try to make it?"

"Yeah, I should... Thank you for the info." I said making my way to the direction of the titans' lair.

"Glad to be of help. I hope I'll see you around kid. You're funny to talk to." He said chuckling.

"Thanks... I guess." I said also chuckling.

* * *

**Melanie's POV**

"I'm really hoping he'll choose you over him. In fact that's what I'm counting on." My uncle said and when I realized who that "he" was, I gasped. It couldn't be. "Helios, Selene, come with me as we let them catch up a little.." Erebus continued laughing and left the dungeon followed by the two siblings.

"How can you be here? How can you have been captured?" I asked him when I composed myself.

"Even the king of the Gods can be captured if the right means are used, daughter of Nyx." Zeus replied. He was wearing his usual uniform and chained to the wall.

"I didn't know there were measures to keep a God prisoner..." I said trying to examine his chains. But since I couldn't reach him it was difficult.

"Like I said, if the right means are used..." He said. That's when I noticed that I had seen his chains before.

"I've seen those before somewhere..." I said gesturing to his bindings.

"These? Hephaestus made them to chain Atlas. I guess they found a way to get them on me." He replied.

"But Erebus can't directly hurt you, right?" I asked.

"True. That's why he has Helios and Selene helping him..." He answered.

"How come no one noticed your absence?" I questioned.

"Everyone's been trying to handle the situation with Liam and everything. I knew I should've eliminate him when I had the chance. Now there is no way he's gonna make the right choice." He mumbled.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"Didn't you just hear what he said? He hopes that Liam chooses you over me. His foolish protectors have given him the means to kill anything and anyone. Even a god or a titan. So when they make him choose between you and me, who do you think he'll choose? His girlfriend that he loves or the king of the Gods who he despises?" He asked and I gasped.

**Creepy isn't it? It's posted late, because some further research on Tartarus and its inmates had to be done... Just so we're as accurate as we can get. Hope you liked it... :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	18. Tears, eavesdropping and the unexpected

**Chapter 18: Tears, eavesdropping and the unexpected**

**Annabeth's POV**

"MOM!" Alex yelled from upstairs and I went to her.

"Alex! Why are you yelling? Melanie is sle..." My sentence was cut short when I looked at Liam's bed and found no one where Melanie should now be.

"She's missing, mom." Alex said just as Percy came in.

"What's going on?" He asked concerned and then also noticed Liam's empty bed. "Where is Melanie?" My goof of a husband asked and both me and Alex rolled our eyes.

"If we knew, we wouldn't be freaking out dad." My daughter said smiling weakly but her worry was evident.

"Could she have gone after him?" Percy asked and I started scanning the room for any signs of his suggestion, but Alex stopped me.

"No way. He made her promise she wouldn't and she would never break a promise she made to him. Not to mention that the dagger her mother gave her is still by the night stand." She said and that got me even more worried.

"Which means..." Percy trailed off.

"Which means Erebus got to her, Seaweed Brain." I finished his sentence.

"Which also means he has found the only way to hurt my brother..." Alex said as tears started trailing down her cheeks and she plopped down on his bed while I went to my husband's arms for comfort.

"Percy, Annabeth, Baby, where are..." Ben said coming in the room. When he saw Alex's state, he sat next to her and she buried her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. It always amazed me how mine and my friends' children had gotten together like that and how much comfort they offered to one another. Liam was the only one that didn't have that until Melanie came along and now she's probably been abducted by her uncle. "What happened and where is Melanie?"

"Let's go outside and tell everyone at once... It's already hard to do it, so it's better done only one time..." Percy suggested and we nodded.

"Ben, what did you want to tell us? When you came you called all three of our names..." I trailed off.

"The Gods have gathered outside once again and it looks bad." He said getting up pulling Alex with him in the process.

"Bad? How much worse can it get?" Percy asked.

"Don't jinx it." I said just like he had twenty years ago. Remembering what happened after he said that I shivered.

"Did you really have to say that Wise Girl?" Percy said obviously making the same connection.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but we need to go downstairs." Alex said between sobs.

She and Ben were already at the door, so Percy and I nodded before following them outside. What we found when we stepped out of the house was a sight that foretold trouble. Eleven of the twelve Olympians, Zeus being the exception, were standing in front of our houses, faces down looking utterly broken. Could it have anything to do with my son? Or Melanie? Before I could duel on it further Percy pulled me with him forward to join our friends and the Gods.

"Now that we're all here, tell us what happened." Clarisse demanded.

"History is repeating itself." My mother said not looking at us.

"What are you talking about mom?" Jenny asked.

"Twenty six years ago, you, demigods, needed to defend Olympus against Kronos's forces while we were trying to hold back Typhon." Poseidon said. We already knew that so there was more to it.

"You have to do that again now." Artemis said and everyone's eyes went wide, but we still stayed silent.

"But this time it's gonna be harder. Erebus may not have demigods, but he has an incredible number of monsters such as telekhines and cyclopes. He also has Briareus's brothers by his side." Hermes said, but then I couldn't help but speak up.

"Briareus as in one of the Hecatonchires we helped during our quest to the labyrinth?" I asked.

"Yes, Annabeth. We don't know what he promised them or how he managed to gain their alliance but he did." Hades answered as fear now clouded everyone's faces.

"Now that Typhon is no longer a threat..." Thalia cut Apollo off then.

"To us maybe, but Liam is in Tartarus right now. Typhon is a great threat Apollo." She said.

"No, he's not. Not with what Liam possesses." Hephaestus said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Travis asked with his voice slightly raised.

"You'll see when he comes back. But as I was saying: now that Typhon is no longer a threat, we will fight by your side and help you protect Olympus." Hades continued his previously cut off sentence.

"But you're Gods. You're not supposed to be helping us." Chris pointed out and the rest of us nodded.

"It's not a quest we're talking about and even if it was, do you seriously expect us to lay back and watch our children, nephews and nieces get slaughtered when we can prevent that?" Aphrodite asked.

"You stand no chance against Briareus's brothers. Even we might not. Briareus will help in the war as will all us all. Morpheus will put everyone to sleep again, so we can avoid hurting the humans." Ares said.

"Amber is already trying to assemble some of the older demigods and they're supposed to arrive at Olympus by tomorrow morning. All we do is ask for your help, but take only the oldest around here. The young ones won't stand a chance." Mom advised.

"We're fighting too." Alex said wiping away her previous tears as the rest of our children nodded.

"Alexandra Sophia Jackson, there is no way you will. None of you will." Nico yelled looking at them closely.

"Give us one good reason dad. We're the best around here. Are you gonna take demigods that are more inexperienced than us, just because you don't want us hurt?" Mike asked seriously.

"If you let Liam go to Tartarus, you're gonna let us take on some stupid telekhines whether you want it or not." Owen declared and the rest nodded again.

"I admire your courage young ones. But there is still more that we haven't said." Hera spoke for the first time.

"Worse than the fact that we have to go to war again?" Travis asked.

"It might. Atlas's chains were stolen." Hephaestus stated, but I couldn't understand how that was worse than the upcoming war.

"How's that worse?" Percy asked as if reading my mind.

"Those chains can bind anyone. Gods, demigods, Titans..." Poseidon said but I still didn't get it. No one did apparently.

"Haven't you noticed that Zeus isn't here right now?" Apollo asked. I think we all did, but...

"He's been gone for more than a week now. That's also how long the chains are missing." Mom said. I think I knew where this was going and I certainly didn't like it.

"So you're saying that Zeus... The king of the Gods has been kidnapped and chained by Erebus?" Jenny asked.

"We can't find him or feel him anywhere... Since Erebus is in Tartarus and that's the only place none of us dares enter, what other better explanation could be?" Hermes asked.

"But why would he do that?" Abby asked. "Why would he bind him? Why now?"

"Zeus is Olympus. If he falls, Olympus falls and we fall. He'll be free to take the throne of the king of the Gods. He'll order us around like we're his subjects." my mother replied.

"How could he fall mom? It's Zeus we're talking about." I said.

"Liam. He has the means to make him fall." Hades answered. "We provided him with those."

"But why would Liam make him fall?" Amanda asked confused.

"He would if he was made to..." Nyx said coming out of nowhere crying. Crying? She knew about Melanie...

"OH MY GODS..." Alex, Ben, Percy and I said at the same time as realization hit us.

"What happened?" everyone asked us in unison.

"Melanie's not in Liam's room. She hasn't gone after him, which means that she was abducted." I said now sobbing.

"Which also means that if Erebus makes him choose between Melanie and Zeus, he'll probably choose her." Percy finished and everyone's eyes went wide.

"Nyx, can't you go down there and bring her back?" Poseidon asked in a frenzy.

"I can't. It's not that I don't dare go in there, but if I do, the seal will vanish and all inmates will be released to the world." She said trying to compose herself.

"How? It's not like you'll betray your brother..." Athena said while Nyx stayed silent.

"Liam has figured it out, but I can't tell you more about that place... You don't know, so I can't tell you. Please don't make me break the pact or the consequences will be severe. The Hecatonchires are nothing compared to all the titans in their not so human size." She actually pleaded.

"You can sense Liam?" Of all the thing she said that's what I was interested in more.

"Yes. He has had two very interesting conversation with two of the inmates, who provided him with information about the place and gave him directions to Erebus's fortress. In fact, he's on his way there." She answered.

"Which inmates?" Hera asked.

"Sisyphus and Ixion. He also changed his identity and pretends to be another inmate." She said.

"That's my champ." Ares said smiling weakly.

"Another inmate? How did he manage to convince them of that?" Percy asked.

"Sisyphus wasn't convinced and in fact knows who he is, but he doesn't care, so he's safe from him. Ixion didn't even realize he was pretending." The Goddess of the night answered.

"Who does he pose as?" Alex asked.

"Leonidas Jones, a man that lusted and managed to bed Aphrodite." Nyx replied and we all turned to Aphrodite. "He knew you'd be the only one that wouldn't have a problem with that. He thought that you'd even take it as a compliment. He used that as an excuse because it's one great crime according to all Gods and that would enable him to say that Erebus is his guard. But I can't say more." She finished.

"Is Melanie okay?" Abby asked concerned.

"She is. They won't dare hurt her, because if they do, they know that Liam will come after them. So she'll be fine." Nyx said. "But now you need to make your preparations for the war."

"You'll fight too?" Artemis asked surprised.

"I will and so will my children." She answered.

"When are Erebus's forces expected to arrive?" Percy asked and I could already see the wheels spinning in his mind. Trying to find the best strategy, even thought in the end he'll go with mine.

"Two days. Morpheus will put everyone to sleep a little before they arrive." Mom said. Great. Another war, but this time will be side by side with the Gods. Let's hope it will be enough.

* * *

**Liam's POV**

After my talk with Ixion I headed towards the direction he had appointed in hope I didn't come across anyone and get into a fight, but not only was it wishful thinking, but I was also wrong. People kept walking by me like it was the most natural thing in the world. Some were walking with their guards, so when they saw me they did ask me what I was doing without mine, but when I told them that I was new and was headed to find him, they shrugged and left. Definitely not what some would expect. But it was in my favor so I didn't complain.

A great deal of walking later, I heard the sounds of people partying. Or in my case, titans partying. They were all gathered around a fire, drinking, eating, dancing to no music and laughing. I could recognize them all from the descriptions I've always heard of and the drawings my grandmother had made so I could distinguish them. So I knew that Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, Mnemosyne and Themis, the female titans were dancing around the fire, while the remaining males, Coeus, Crius and Iapetus were talking with Typhon. Of course I wasn't interested in the dancing, so I tried to sneak close to the males so I could listen to their conversation.

"... how are we supposed to do this, Typhon?" Iapetus asked. "Perseus Jackson managed to tear our brother in pieces. Don't you think his son will be powerful?"

"Kronos was your brother not mine and I don't know about you, but I certainly want revenge for getting locked up in here." He replied.

"So this is all about vengeance? You're not gonna achieve anything if you kill him." Crius said.

"Not to mention that Tartarus said not to kill him. He's probably our ticket out of here." Coeus backed him up.

"What if Tartarus is playing with us?" Iapetus asked.

"What do you mean?" Typhon asked. "You finally agree with me that we should kill him?"

"No, Typhon I don't. I was referring to the fact that he wants us to capture him. He's more powerful than us down here and yet he lets us do his dirty work. What if he's afraid of that boy?" Iapetus asked. "I've seen Perseus Jackson fight and he's one of the best I've seen. What if his son is even better and that's why Tartarus wants us to go up against him?"

"I don't care. That bloody grandfather of his threw me in here after the war and now I'm going to hurt his grandson in return." Typhon said.

"Tartarus wants him alive!" Coeus yelled.

"As long as we're in his domain, we can't do as we please, so we can't kill him." Crius said.

"Fine! But I will at least hurt him a bit." The father of all monsters replied. Then he sniffed the air. "Can you smell that?"

"Smell what?" The others asked in unison.

"Smells like... like... the sea... He's here!" Typhon said and they all grabbed their weapons as the females ran away. Shit...

* * *

**Melanie's POV**

I sat on the mattress I had woken up on for Gods know how long trying to process everything. I was abducted by Erebus, my uncle, and thrown in a cell, but I could ask for everything I wanted because they wanted me unhurt. In the cell next to mine, Zeus, the king of the Gods, was chained to a wall. Liam was somewhere in Tartarus and I had no clue if he was alright or not. I had a really bad feeling and I was really stressed, which was probably the cause to my never-stopping nausea. Zeus had got sick of it and we were here only a few hours I presume.

"Were you poised or something? This is disgusting." He said averting his eyes from me once again.

"It's probably because of the stress, but what do you know about that, right? I really don't know how you could be afraid. You have no feelings." I spat at him.

"Watch your tone with me daughter of Nyx. You'll be the reason for my death after all." He said through gritted teeth.

"You don't know that Zeus." I said before throwing up again. I had to calm down a bit. This was getting on my nerves.

"Of course I know that. He'll choose his petty, little girlfriend over me. He'll choose wrong and hand Olympus to Erebus." He yelled at me just as Helios came and got in his cell.

"You won't speak to her like that ever again." He said and slapped Zeus with all his might. "Understood soon-to-be-ex-king of the Gods?" He asked mockingly.

"Why do you even care son of Hyperion?" Zeus asked back and received another slap.

"My masted wants her unharmed and I'm just doing what I'm told." He said.

"So you're another puppet... **slap**... another pawn... **slap**... a dog following his master's orders...**slap**... You're pathetic...**slap**..." Zeus kept on but I couldn't take it anymore.

"STOP!" I yelled and Helios surprisingly did. "Just... stop it." The tension was too much for me.

"Why are you bleeding?" Helios asked confusing me.

"I'm not." I said.

"You are." He said pointing to the lower part of my body. When I looked down I saw that he was right. What the hell?

"I think you just miscarried." Zeus said.

**Drama... Abductions, tears, repetition of history, eavesdropping, miscarriage... Too much drama right? And I bet nobody expected that. Now imagine how mad Liam will be when he finds out. Anyway, I hope you liked it. And I really think this is the best chapter Tony and I have written so far. What do you think?**

**Ohh and Mike... don't be so cruel to Film.**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	19. Unbelievable

**BOO! How are you doing people? Still reading this? Well if you are prepare for some gasping. I know I did when I read it. Two unbelievable events occur in this. One that will make you cheer for Liam. The other will make you HATE Zeus and wonder what's gonna happen next.**

**Chapter 19: Unbelievable**

**Liam's POV**

The female titans ran away at different directions and the three males went back to back looking around for me, while Typhon had his sword in a tight grip and sniffed the air looking for me. I wasn't a coward, so there was no way I would stay hidden. Besides they knew I was here so there wasn't a point in hiding. I stood from my bent state and stepped forward. The moment I did, Crius, Coeus and Iapetus formed a three-person line behind Typhon, who was smirking.

"So you're the foolish demigod..." He said looking at me closely.

"You could say that." I said shrugging. "Now how about you let me through without any trouble?" I suggested and they started laughing uncontrollably.

"You want US to let YOU through?" Iapetus asked even though just a few moments ago he wasn't very fond of coming up against me.

"Yeah. Why would we, the titans..." Coeus started.

"...let you, an Olympian offspring, through?" Crius finished for his brother.

"More importantly, why would I let the grandson of the God who threw me in this hole leave unharmed?" Typhon said last.

"Because you don't want any trouble?" I asked twisting my ring effectively unclasping Achilles, but their laughing continued.

"What makes you think you can take us on? It's me and three titans, while you're just another demigod." Typhon said.

"Yeah, just another demigod. Only this demigod has taken on most of the Olympians at once." I said and fear immediately clouded the titans' eyes. Typhon just got angrier. I may not know the way they fight, but what I did know was that the more emotional your opponent is, the easier the battle. Tips given by the Goddess of wisdom and strategy herself.

"Bragging about your accomplishments boy? I'm sure they were taking it easy on you. You're just a mortal after all." The father of all monsters said. His look at me seemed murderous.

"Maybe so. But if you're not afraid, why have those three behind you? Why not take me on yourself? Is the father of all monsters just a chicken?" I said adding some sounds chicken usually make. Coeus, Crius an Iapetus chuckled while Typhon growled.

"Get out!" He yelled looking at me.

"What?" Iapetus asked.

"I said GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" He yelled again.

"But Tartarus.." Crius started.

"I don't care what that little prick said. Get the fuck out of here." He said looking back at them.

"That prick is your father though. You can't go back against his words." Coeus stated. Wow... I didn't know that one.

"Ummm sorry to interrupt your catfight, but I don't have all day..." I said smirking and Typhon got even angrier if possible.

"CATFIGHT? Who do you think you are, brat?" He asked.

"No one important. Just Liam Kai Jackson, who is about to kick your sorry ass." I said trying to infuriate him even more. He was ready to pounce at me, but the three titans each put a hand on his shoulder holding him back. But my words seemed to have got him as angry as I wanted him to be because he turned his menacing gaze at them.

"Don't you dare touch me again..." He said through gritted teeth pushing their hands off of him and stroke one of them with his hammer. "Get out of here." He ordered and the three males went towards the direction the females had gone leaving me and Typhon alone. "Where were we boy?"

"I think you were about to pounce..." I said letting the water flow around me making him gasp. "What happened? Scared?" I asked chuckling.

"I could never be scared of a wimp like you. Hiding behind his grandfather's element." he said chuckling.

"I use what I have. It's not like you would ever dare fight me in this size if it wasn't for Tartarus binding you to this one." I said swinging my sword once as he started circling me.

"What makes you think that you stand a chance against me, boy? You are just a demigod. A mere mortal. Your weapons are useless against me. Mine on the other hand." He ranted, but for some reason I had great trust on Achilles. Something in the back of my mind made me think that it was capable of penetrating his skin.

As he continued circling me, I watched how he moved around me. He was dragging his left foot instead of lifting it up which meant that as a right-handed his reverse strike was weaker just like Abby. It also meant that his entire strategy was based on his strength and that I should avoid being hit. His hammer was incredibly huge, but I had fought against bigger. Hephaestus's was much larger. He always told me that when I would come up against someone with a hammer all I needed to do was dodge the attack and strike the moment the weapon touches the ground.

"Are you continue moving around me for long?" I asked smirking trying to challenge him and get him to attack me.

My words seemed to work cause the next moment he trudged towards me with his hammer high in the air. He made the exact mistake I wanted him to make because of his fury. Lifting his weapon so high with little time to bring it down enable me to run to him, by his side with my sword low enough to smack against his right knee and bring him down. When Achilles made the impact with his skin I heard a cry of pain and the next moment he was down holding his leg close to his body. I even saw him bleed. BLEED! A titan couldn't bleed or at least that's what I thought.

I looked down at my sword and sure enough there was blood running down the blade. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How was this even possible? In those few moment of both of our surprise, my mind went through every memory I had trying to figure out how this could be. I remembered that the Gods have always avoided my blade like it could hurt them. It was their gift though. Forged by Hephaestus himself. Why would they give me a sword that would enable me to kill them?

"_Not only them Liam. Remember what they told you when they gave it to you." _Nyx said in my mind. What they had said? That my sword could penetrate anything and that it might be useful in my future. _"Exactly Liam. Look at him." _She said again and I did. Typhon was holding on his bleeding knee as his eyes were clouded with fear. He was completely terrified. After the moment of shock passed, he composed himself, got up grunting and moved towards me.

"More tricks demigod?" He asked lifting his hammer again but not as foolishly as before.

"I definitely didn't know about this one. Not that I mind of course." I said preparing myself for him.

With my new discovery I was much more comfortable and confident about fighting him, so I made a move on him just like he did. Right before he could push his weapon down on me, I pressed my blade against the handle of his hammer with all my might. I don't know if it was the fact that we were in Tartarus, but he didn't seem as strong as I expected. In fact I could easily push him backwards. Both of us pushed against each other's weapons and on one of his backward steps he managed to kick my leg. I grunted and stepped back holding my leg.

Seeing my weakness, he lifted his hammer back up and stroke down. It almost hit me. At the last minute I rolled to the side, got up from my bent over state and went for his neck. Easy... Like cutting a piece of paper, his head fell off right before his entire body turned into ashes. I had just killed Typhon. The father of all monsters and son of Tartarus himself. Erebus, you're next.

* * *

**Erebus's POV**

I was sitting in my office with my brother, fully content with the situation. We had Zeus chained to a wall, unable to move or hurt us. Liam was somewhere in my brother's domain and Tartarus could feel exactly where. If Liam managed to reach our fortress, we had the advantage since Melanie was being held in our dungeon. Our forces would keep the demigods busy in two days. The foolish children of Hyperion knew nothing of my brother's existence. They just thought that I chose Tartarus because it was the place that no one dared enter. What they also didn't know was that I could never enter my brother's domain unless invited. Which is also the reason Nyx can't come down here. Not many things could go wrong now.

"Things are going well for us now, Erebus." He said taking a sip of his drink.

"That's exactly what I was thinking about. Where is he now?" I asked.

"The Titans' lair." He said closing his eyes.

"So soon, they'll bring him to us?" I asked excitedly.

"Not really. He killed Typhon and the others have fled." He answered and I choked on the wine I was drinking. But how did that happen?

"How was a mere mortal kid able to kill your son?" I asked utterly confused.

"You still don't know...?" Tartarus asked back.

"Know what?"

"You don't know why we need Liam to kill Zeus." He stated. Right before I was able to ask for further information, he got up from his chair looking more furious than I'd ever seen him and spoke only two words before disappearing. "Those fools..." I sat there confused for a moment right before Helios entered my office in a frenzy.

"My lord.. I certainly didn't mean to.." He ranted being on his knees.

"What happened?" I asked.

"It's your niece, my lord. She's... She was..." He tried to say.

"She was what, Helios?" I asked getting a little impatient.

"She was pregnant." he said in a low voice. That would be great. His unborn child would be even greater blackmail. But wait... he said WAS.

"What do you mean she was? How can she not be anymore?" I asked as darkness started to surround the room.

"She miscarried, master." He said and I stood there for a minute trying to process his words.

"So you're saying that we just lost an even greater reason to blackmail Liam?" I asked and he nodded. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER?" I asked grabbing him by the neck.

"To her nothing my lord. The king of the Gods was upsetting her so I slapped him. He continued with insulting me and I kept on slapping him. After a few hits, she told me to stop and when I turned to look at her, she was bleeding in the lower part of her body. Then Zeus said that she had miscarried." He said as I let his neck go and practically ran to the dungeon. Once I was in Zeus's cell, I started punching him with all my might.

"What happened Erebus? One less leverage for blackmail?" He asked as I kept on punching him. He knew...

"You fucking knew she was pregnant and still stressed her out..." I said pulling back.

"I didn't need to do much... Liam's coming here was enough to stress her out." He said smirking as Melanie returned wearing fresh clothes. She had come right on time to hear him say that. She escaped the cyclops's hold and ran at Zeus pushing me aside and attacking him. She screamed and hit him with all her strength until Helios grabbed her by the waist and pulled her off of him before putting her in her cell.

"I HATE YOU... I HATE YOU! I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE LIAM KILL YOU, BASTARD!" She kept screaming and I couldn't help but agree with her. I couldn't wait either, but for different reasons.

"Helios, find another place for Melanie to stay in and make sure that it's as far away from this idiot as possible." I ordered and he nodded. Melanie's screams never lessened. I knew I should never have let them stay close to one another. But I never would have expected that she was pregnant. Now I can only hope that Liam doesn't find out...

**So Liam killed Typhon. * Cheering for Liam* And Zeus purposely stressed Melanie out. I'm sure you must hate him as much as I do. But what will that bring? What will Liam do now? If he kills Zeus as Tartarus and Erebus want, he'll be practically giving away Olympus. But then again, how can he not? Melanie miscarried because of him. Dilemmas, dilemmas... This keeps getting better, don't you think?**

**And Sidney, I'm not hysterical... Just back to my usual baby self :P**

**Mike**


	20. Finally

**Hello world! It's my duty as a kind and caring (coughs) big brother to provide you with the lovebirds' next chapter. Well I would say more, but I'm being threatened not to type another chapter if I do, so... Here's the chapter. :D**

**Chapter 20: Finally**

**Percy's POV**

Just a few hours ago our parents informed us that we'd have to defend Olympus like we had done twenty six years ago. Only this time, it would be harder since two Hecatonchires would be against, but we would also have the Gods on our side. In this war, it wouldn't be the young demigods defending the center of our world. It would be the older ones. People like Amber, our kids and us ourselves. We wouldn't let Amy or John go on this one because of David. He was just a little over two months after all and we couldn't take the risk of making him an orphan. Although, I really wanted Alex and the rest to stay behind I knew that not only they were needed but there was no way to hold them back. Especially after we let Liam go into Tartarus.

"What are you thinking about?" Annabeth asked me leaning against my shoulder. We were trying to act as normal as possible so as not to alert the young ones, which meant that we had to have our normal dinner at the pavilion like nothing had happened.

"Nothing..." I trailed off not wanting to upset her more. Liam's location was enough.

"I know you, Seaweed Brain. You're doing that thing with your eye-brows, which you only do when you're thinking hard." She said caressing my cheek as I smiled at her. "So..?"

"Just how history repeats itself..." I said shrugging. "You were right again."

"I really hate I was right this time." She said and I could see that she was on the verge of tears. Our son's location was already stressing her out. If you add Melanie's abduction and now the war... It was only natural for any of us to be like that.

"Annabeth, please try not to break down. The young ones don't know of the threat and we want to keep it that way, remember?" I asked wrapping my arms around her in an attempt to comfort both of us. She held her breath for a few short seconds trying to regain her composure and then turned her head to me kissing me softly.

"Thank you Percy." She said smiling weakly.

"Anything for my wife." I said and kissed her forehead.

"Um.. guys." Thalia trailed off nudging my wife.

"What happened Thals?" Annabeth asked turning to our friend.

"I think they want to talk to us." She answered gesturing to the Gods. Sure enough, they were motioning us to come to them so I got both of us up and went to them.

"What happened?" I asked once we were close.

"It's about Liam." How could such a short sentence make us gasp and freak out...

"Is he...?" Annabeth started but couldn't finish. I just waited for their answer trying to prepare myself for the worst.

"No. Of course he's not dead." Aphrodite said a little bit too loudly.

"Then why the sad faces?" Clarisse asked getting closer with the others.

"Because now there isn't even the chance of a miracle." My dad answered.

"What do you mean?" Travis asked first.

"Up until a few short hours ago, we all thought that there was the slightest possibility that Liam wouldn't actually have to choose between Zeus and Melanie, but find a way around it." Apollo said, but that's what we've all been hoping for even since we realized what Erebus's plan was. What had changed?

"Okay... How about you tell us something we don't know for a change?" Clarisse asked frustrated as Chris tried to calm her.

"Melanie was pregnant." Nyx said coming out of nowhere.

"WHAT!" Annabeth and I yelled surprised.

"Your son was to become a father." She said slowly as if talking to five-year-olds as we stood stunned.

"First of all, how is this relevant to Liam's task and second, why did you say 'WAS'?" Jenny asked.

"I said 'was' because Melanie miscarried a few hours ago, which is why I was crying earlier. And her miscarriage has everything to do with Liam's task." Nyx answered as we all stood there speechless.

"How...?" that was all Annabeth breathed.

"How what?" Hermes asked. "How did she miscarry or how does everything have to do with our hopes?" We could only nod unable to form a word.

"The fact that Liam went into Tartarus was enough on its own to stress her out immensely. All Zeus had to do was it out frequently and annoy her." Nyx answered and my temper started getting out of control.

"Why would he do that? Kill an innocent, unborn child?" Nico asked repulsed.

"Zeus is vicious and selfish. All he cares about is his survival. He thought that by making Melanie miscarry, Erebus would have less to blackmail Liam with." Athena answered.

"How can I be related to that... to that monster?" Thalia exclaimed burying her face in Nico's chest as he comforted her.

"I'm going to kill him. I don't know how yet, but I will." I said in a menacing tone as water surrounded both mine and Annabeth's bodies since she was standing so close to me.

"You won't have to, because Liam surely will. Which leads us to the loss of hope." Ares said.

"When Zeus dies, Olympus will fall apart." Hephaestus said.

"Why? There still will be eleven of you." Travis pointed out.

"Eleven without a leader. We'll scatter, crave for more power and eventually fight each other. It's in our nature." Artemis replied.

"Okay.. okay... back up a second though. How could Liam ever kill Zeus? He may be one of the best fighters, if not the best, but Zeus is a God while he's a demigod." Chris said.

"We've given him the means to do so." Aphrodite said.

"He CAN kill Zeus. Just like he DID kill Typhon about an hour ago." Nyx said and we...

"WHAT!" Me and my friends exclaimed. The shock replaced my anger and the water seized to surround me and Annabeth.

"But Typhon is immortal... How..?" Annabeth stammered.

"Haven't you ever noticed how we've always avoided being touched by his sword?" Hades asked.

"Yeah, but that's been part of his training..." Jenny trailed off.

"No. That was part of keeping ourselves alive." Apollo corrected.

"So you're saying that our son has the power to kill Gods?" I asked stunned just like the rest as the Gods nodded.

"Considering your adventures, Percy, we thought we should give him every potential to be victorious against any opponent." Artemis started. "We trained him to the fullest and made him the best at everything. We managed to maximize his abilities, both mental and physical, and I even taught him how to overcome his vision issues." She continued.

"But all that would be useless against an immortal. Percy, you defeated Hyperion only because you thought of using the hand of Midas against him. But now that's no longer possible, so I forged a blade that could slice through anything and anyone. Human, demigod, God or titan. That blade we gave Liam and I called it Achilles." Hephaestus finished.

"You really gave him a sword that can kill you all?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Yes, son of Poseidon. They did." Hera answered.

"Weren't you afraid he might turn against you?" Jenny asked as all the crying seemed to die down gradually.

"We trust him." Aphrodite said smiling.

"The recent events show that you should have." Hera said making us all glare at her.

"It's neither ours nor is it Liam's fault that your husband acted so foolishly." Athena yelled and went to attack the queen of the Gods, but at the last minute was stopped by my dad.

"Stop it, Athena. She's not worth it." He said holding on her wrist tightly. I guess that was a simple of example of how easily they can get in a fight... In the next moment, Annabeth turned to Nyx with her eye-brows raised indicating she probably made another one of her frequent discoveries. Or was about to.

"Nyx, how do you know all this? About Liam and Melanie? How can you feel them in Tartarus..?" She asked and the Goddess looked down.

"I can't tell you. If I do, the seal will be broken and Tartarus's inmates will wander free around the world." She answered as my wife slapped her forehead. Huh?

"If I guess right, you'll tell us though, won't you?" She asked as Nyx lifted her head up seeming excited.

"You figured it out?" She asked.

"I think so. When mom said that your going in Tartarus wouldn't be like betraying your brother, you stayed silent, which meant that you would." Annabeth said but I couldn't see where she was going with it. "But Tartarus isn't Erebus's domain, so going in there you wouldn't betray him but someone else who is also a brother of yours.." She continued.

"Keep on, Annabeth." Nyx said nodding.

"Just a few days ago, I came across a part of Hesiod's Theogony, which said that Tartarus is a deity and ruler of the place named after him. He's your brother, isn't he?" My wife asked and all of us looked at Nyx expectantly.

"Finally!" The Goddess exclaimed. "Hesiod was the only one to believe that Tartarus was a deity. Nobody dares enter his domain because of the titans, so nobody knows of his existence. Until now."

* * *

**Liam's POV**

After killing Typhon, I sat on one of the rocks there trying to process what I had just done. What the sword I was given when I was just ten years old was capable of. Not only did the blade make Typhon bleed, but it also sliced through his neck with extreme easiness. Like stabbing a monster. The Gods had given me the ultimate weapon. A weapon that could mean the end of them if I chose it. They trusted me enough to give it to me. That had to mean something.

When I was sure that I was composed, I got up and went towards the hill on which the fortress of the two brothers was located. I encountered many monsters on my way up there, but none of them seemed to have any interest in me. They just kept on with their tasks like I didn't exist. They would of course look at me, but other than that I was completely ignored. I didn't know what make of this. Should I be glad that Tartarus didn't send anyone else against me? Or should I be afraid that he held the worst for last?

I didn't have any more time to think about that because I had reached the top of the hill with the huge gates being in front of me. Surprisingly, they were open wide as if the two brothers were expecting me. I was in Tartarus's domain which probably meant that if he concentrated on me he would be able to sense my presence at his doorstep and the fact that no one was here to stop got me a little worried. What had they planned. Grasping Achilles with two hands, I walked in. The moment I stepped my foot inside what seemed to be the courtyard, a man appeared in front of me.

"Hello great male. We've been expecting you." He said smiling. I don't know what it was, but I really didn't like his smile.

"Who are you?" That was the first question I needed answered before asking about Erebus.

"Well, how about I give you a clue? You just murdered my son, although I really don't care, and you're in my domain." He said and realization hit me.

"Tartarus." I breathed. "So you're Erebus's accomplice."

"More like the brain of the whole operation. My brother is just my puppet doing what I tell him to in exchange for this." He replied showing around with his hands. "This is the only place no one dares to hurt him. Not even Nyx. But enough about me. Why don't you keep on. I'm sure you'll find my surprise... um... how can I say this?... Let's just say that it won't be so joyful." He said snickering and disappeared into the main building.

I didn't get the chance to ask him where Erebus was, but since he was the mastermind behind the whole operation of taking over Olympus somehow, it was him I had to deal with not his brother so I went in after him. Between scanning the place and trying to memorize every detail, I also tried to figure out what Tartarus's "surprise" for me could be. One thing was for sure though: I wouldn't like it. After a while of exploring the "palace" I came across gigantic double doors to what probably was my destination. With the power of the water, I pushed them open and went in. The man I had seen a little over a week ago in Melanie's room was sitting in a pitch black throne... Erebus. When I entered he looked up smirking.

"Welcome Liam Kai Jackson." He said clapping. Finally I had reached my destination and I'm sure I'm not gonna like this...

**Liam finally reaches the fortress! Exciting... Or at least it would be if we had the next chappie ready, so we can read on, right? It's all up to lovebirds boys and girls. I'm just typing and that only because I'm too eager to read the chappies. So the lovebirds and my baby self salute you... For now... :P**

**The one and only...**

**Mike! :P**


	21. Choice

**BOO! Nah... that's not scary anymore... Anyway, in case you didn't realize it, it's MIKE (!) once again. Like I've said, pouting can get you anywhere with my sister so I'm typing this again. But I'll just shut up and give you this spicy and unpredictable chappie.**

**Chapter 21: Choice**

**Erebus's POV**

"The great male is about to reach the gates. I'm going there for a little welcome. Just make sure that our "guests" are ready for when he comes." My brother said and walked towards the double doors before disappearing behind them.

"HELIOS! SELENE!" I called for my pets and the next moments both came to kneel in front of me.

"You called us, master?" They asked simultaneously without raising their heads.

"I did. Helios, I want you to bring Miss Carter here. Unharmed and with a cloth around her mouth. We don't want her to scream at Liam to kill the foolish king of the Gods. Not before we've had a little talk." I said, he got up bowing before he left the room.

"And what can I do for you my, lord?" The daughter of Hyperion asked not changing her stance.

"First of all, don't you dare screw this up. Don't go anywhere near my niece. Understood?" I asked and waited until she nodded. "Good. Now, I want our Olympian guest to be brought in here in a few minutes, because the great male will soon be with us. Now go!" I said dismissing her with my hand.

"I won't disappoint you this time, master." She said getting up.

"You'd better not. Your job couldn't be any easier." I said not even looking at her.

"Yes, my lord. Thank you for this chance to redeem my previous failure.." She bellowed before heading to the dungeon. After the news of her miscarriage, we moved Melanie to one of the chambers getting her as far away from Zeus as possible. Ever since she had attacked the king of the Gods, she hadn't stopped crying or screaming. Thinking of all that, I sat in my throne comfortable waiting for Liam to get in. Soon enough, the double doors opened and inside came Liam.

"Welcome Liam Kai Jackson." I said snickering.

* * *

**Nyx's POV**

The others kept talking about strategies and how we'd defend Olympus, while I was focused on Liam. I knew he had just had his first encounter with my most vicious of brothers: Tartarus himself. Now, it was only a matter of time before he learned about Melanie's and Zeus's abductions, the death of his unborn child and lastly about what Erebus was going to make him do.

"_Enjoy the show my dear sister." _I heard Tartarus's voice in my head.

"It's starting..." I trailed off and everyone's heads turned to me as they gasped.

* * *

**Liam's POV**

The amusement in his voice irritated me to no end, but I kept my cool and walked towards him slowly. I wasn't gripping Achilles as hard as I had been, but I was still cautious of Tartarus. After all, Nyx had told me that there were more vicious creatures down here than Erebus and if I was right that would be his brother.

"Any last words before I kill you?" I asked getting closer and closer to his throne.

"What makes you think that you can kill me, boy?" He asked chuckling.

"How about the fact that I've already killed your nephew? Does the name "Typhon" ring any bells?" I asked and saw the fear in his eyes right before he composed himself. That's when we heard a knock on the door to his right.

"Right on time. Why don't I show you why you won't kill me? Come on in." He said and the door opened revealing a man in a black cloak who was holding on a girl. Having my contacts on I could see who the girl was, although I really wished I didn't, and it made my heart skip a few beats.

"You son of a bitch. Let her go!" I yelled raising my sword so that it pointed straight to his head.

"Watch your mouth Liam." he said and the man in the cloak pressed a dagger to Melanie's neck. "You wouldn't want Helios to apply a little too much pressure, would you?" He asked as Helios pushed the blade a little bit more forcefully to her neck careful not to draw any blood.

"Don't drag her into this. It's me you and your brother want. Not her. My decision will affect Olympus's fate." I said.

"I would say I'm sorry I can't do that, but I'm not." He said chuckling. "She's my leverage." he said and there was another knock. This time round, it was on the door to his left. "Right on time once more. You see, I can't let your girlfriend go, because I want you to do something for me. Come in, Selene." He said as the door opened and Selene walked in followed by a rolling structure, made of what seemed to be steel, which was being pushed by two cyclopes. I could see that it had someone attached to it, but he had his head down and I couldn't see who it was.

"What do you want me to do so you can let her go?" I asked bringing my sword to my side.

"It's pretty simple, Liam. I want you to kill him..." he said gesturing to the guy that had just been brought in here, "... and then the rest of his damn family." He finished and went to the guy. "We've taken very good care of your girlfriend, Liam. All you need to do in order to have her back in your arms is kill this fucking bastard and the ones of his kind." He said and lifted the guy's head so I could see him. It was Zeus! He wanted me to kill Zeus and the rest of the Olympians.

"Okay... let me get this straight. You want me to kill Zeus?" I asked raising my eye-brows.

"Precisely great male. But the other Olympians as well." He said.

"Okay... Killing him is something I don't give a damn about. He's hated me my whole life. But why the fuck do you think I'd kill my family? My grandparents? My aunts? My uncles? The people that have been there for me my whole life? The people who trusted me enough to give me a sword that can even kill them? Why on earth would I do that?" I asked as my temper visibly started rising. Melanie was still in the arms of Helios with a cloth around her mouth.

"Simple. Because you wouldn't want Melanie to die. You love her too much to let her die. And calm down already. You're getting the floor wet." He warned.

I knew he was right though. I wouldn't leave Melanie to die. But if I did indeed kill Zeus, even without ending the others, the ones that remained alive would fight for power. It was in their nature. I had to think of something... _"Just use your powers." _Nyx yelled in my head. I looked over at Helios and my girl. She was now looking at me with her puffy, red eyes which were like that probably from crying and she didn't even seem to struggle against Helios's hold. But the way he held against him made it pretty easy for me to throw anything at him. But only Achilles could kill him... That's what Nyx meant.

"Will you still keep thinking about it?" He asked aggravated and I turned back to him. I also let Achilles loose being supported only by the water around me.

"Actually I'm done thinking." I said and threw my sword at Helios full-force with the power of the water. If I had used my hands to do it, it would never make it to its target. But with my grandfather's help, it did. It went right at the center of his head leaving him dead.

Helios dissolved into ashes as Selene cried out, Erebus was taken aback and Zeus as well. Right when Achilles hit the ground, it appeared on my right hand as a ring once again. Melanie fell down on the ground and quickly removed the cloth around her mouth. She tried to speak but no words came out. She just kept pointing at Zeus as I made my way to her. I cradled her in my arms as Erebus and Selene fled. Such cowards...

"Shhh... It's okay, Mel. Everything's over and I'm here." I said and she tried to speak again but her voice was hoarse and I didn't understand a thing. I pulled back and made her look at me. "Baby, what's wrong?" I asked softly kissing her forehead.

"He... killed... it..." she stammered.

"Melanie, who killed what?" I asked getting quite worried. She grabbed my head, turned it to the side and whispered in my ear.

"He killed... killed... our baby..." She said pointing at Zeus.

I pulled back and sat there stunned for a couple of seconds before she started crying. That made me see red. Zeus too my chance of becoming a father? HE KILLED OUR BABY! I didn't need any explanations. Melanie would never say something like that if it wasn't true. And this could also explain her current state. I got off of the ground and went to my child's murderer. On my way to him, I unclasped Achilles and when I got to him I started slicing him at random places, careful not to kill him... yet.

"How dare you asshole? What the fuck did the baby do to you?" I asked just as I pushed Achilles into his right shoulder while he screamed in agony.

"Less... leverage." He breathed and I went ballistic.

"LESS LEVERAGE! YOU KILLED MY UNBORN CHILD TO SAVE YOUR SORRY ASS? HOW'S THAT WORKING OUT FOR YOU, MOTHERFUCKER? IF YOU HADN'T DONE ANTYHING, YOU'D BE NOW WALKING OUT OF TARTARUS ALIVE!" I yelled and was about to finish him off when someone placed their hand on my shoulder.

"Don't do this Liam." Nyx said in a surprisingly motherly tone.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't. He's a fucking murderer." I said.

"Think of the consequences of his death. Those are the reasons. Anger is your fatal flaw, Liam. Don't let it cloud your judgment. No matter how much I want to kill him too, we can't..." She said taking her hand away. "The choice is your Great Male."

She stepped back and let me think about it as she went to tend to her daughter. I already knew what would happen if I killed him. The remaining Gods would fight amongst themselves and it would be ugly. Many lives would be lost. Human and demigod. A war more epic than Homer's Iliad or the Titanomachy would erupt.

But could I let him live? Could I stand the fact that he's alive when mine and Melanie's innocent child was murdered by him? Could I live with myself if I spared his life? I'd hate him with every fiber of my being, every single second for the rest of my life. That was for sure. Was this enough of an excuse to endanger the fate of he whole world though? Killing him would relieve some of the hate and heartbreak I felt, but it wouldn't change anything else. Except destroy life as we know it.

"Will you just do it already?" Zeus asked grunting. Having thought of both outcomes, I lifted my blade high in the air and stroke. His chains fell to the ground and I turned Achilles back to a ring again.

"Get the fuck out of my sight." I said kicking him in the gut once, before he got up and walked towards the exit grunting as I returned to my girlfriend and her mother.

"Liam..." Melanie's still hoarse voice called for me when I was near. I just hugged her close thankful it was all over.

"Liam... We're far from over." Nyx said and I looked at her confused.

"What do you mean? I just let him live. Erebus has fled. What else could I do...?" I asked letting Melanie bury her face in my chest.

"The seal is broken Liam." She answered and that's when I realized what had just happened.

**So... what did you think? The lovebirds have ordered me to ask this: "Wasn't it more spicy **_DragoNik_**?" They also want me to thank **ErIkA **for her compliments and I would like to tell her that I'm just the one typing some chappies. All the writing and ideas are theirs. I'm just too eager to wait until they've typed it so I offer to do it for them. Later boys and girls...**


	22. Releasing them

**Hello guys. I stepped my foot down and regained control over my account, so any reviews you might leave, either me or Tony will reply to. Not that immature 18-year-old I have for a brother. Sorry for anything he said in the reviews. Now here's the chapter many of you have been waiting for.**

**Chapter 22: Releasing them**

**Melanie's POV**

"What are you talking about?" I asked holding on to Liam's shirt as tightly as I could. My hands were white from the pressure I was applying.

"The seal that held Tartarus's inmates locked up in here is broken, my daughter." My mother said rubbing my back.

"Why?" I asked again in that hoarse voice of mine.

"Because your mother broke the pact between the siblings." LJ said kissing my head. "My lady, will you tell her as I go and try to fix up the mess you made?" My boyfriend asked my mother rather harshly.

"I didn't mean to, Liam. I had to bring you back to your senses so you could actually make the choice and not let your anger take the best of you." She answered looking at him.

"You could have sent someone else. The titans are no longer a threat. Not when I have this." He said and pointed to his ring.

"I acted on pure instinct. There was no time to give them directions here. It would be too late if I did. " She answered and that made me see red so I got up from the ground.

"YOU WANTED HIM TO LIVE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Melanie, you have to understand the consequences of Zeus's death. There would be..." I cut her off.

"I don't care. He knew I was pregnant and still kept stressing me out inducing the miscarriage!" I yelled again as Liam pulled me to his chest and let me cry my eyes out. He didn't need to say anything. Just being in his arms was comfort enough.

"Baby, I need to go." He whispered in my ear some time later.

"LJ, you need to know something.." My mom said but we ignored her.

"Not without me." I said holding onto him once again.

"Mel..." I cut him off by kissing him.

"Last time you left almost two days ago, I was kidnapped. I think that's proof enough that we shouldn't stay away from one another." I said.

"But Mel, you just..." I cut him off again.

"I'm fine. We just need to get this over with." I said in determination although I had no clue why I felt so rejuvenated and powerful.

"Are you sure you're fine?" He asked lifting my chin up so he could look in me in the eye. I could never lie to him even if I wanted to so I just told him the truth.

"I'm not fine. But let's finish this..." I said stroking his cheeks. A few minutes later he started shaking his head.

"No. I just can't let you fight. You miscarried less than two days ago. You were an emotional wreck just a few minutes ago. I can't let you fight. I'm sorry." He apologized but I wouldn't have that.

"I'm not asking for your permission, LJ. I'm coming. The longer we wait, the more inmates escape." I said pulling back from him and crossing my arms over my chest. He stood there, often stealing glances at my mother, and I could practically see the wheels twisting in his mind. After several minutes he huffed, reached down to his shoe and pulled out a little dagger. He pulled another dagger from his side and threw both of them at me.

"If something happens to you, I won't forgive myself." he said and I could see a tear in his eye so I moved closer to him.

"Nothing will happen to either of us." I assured him stroking his cheeks.

"You can't be sure." He said and before I could respond my mother cut us off by poking me on the shoulder.

"You really should get going. Whether it's together or not, you need to go. Tartarus has informed the inmates of the seal being broken and they are now on the move. They'll be joining the monsters in the attack on Olympus." The minute she finished her sentence, both mine and Liam's heads snapped to my mother's direction.

"What attack?" We both asked simultaneously.

"The one I was trying to tell you about." She replied. "A little before you came in here, Liam, my brothers ordered their army to proceed to taking over Olympus." Liam cut her off.

"They wanted to distract everyone so they get me on their side and I finish off Zeus without anyone interfering..." He trailed off.

"Exactly. But the monsters don't know that. They have been convinced that the great male will join them and lead them to a glorious victory against the Olympians. Erebus made sure of that. He even managed to get Briareus's brothers to side with him." The lady of the night explained.

"WHAT! He has two Hecatonchires attacking Olympus? The demigods will never stand a chance." Liam exclaimed as we walked towards the exit.

"The Gods are all helping them. Even I'll go in a few. And we have Briareus on our side." She replied.

"The Gods and Briareus are helping them? You will in a few too? It's already started?" I asked worried.

"Yes, Melanie. Just a few minutes before I came here, the attack began." My mother said.

"Why would the Gods help, though? They're not supposed to." LJ pointed out. We had already reached the gates of my uncles' fortress and now were climbing down the hill.

"First of, stop running. I can get you back." My mom said as Liam looked at her in a weird way. "I can get you there too Liam." She continued and my boyfriend finally stopped us turning to look at her.

"Okay, then. Now answer my question." He demanded.

"Once again I have to say... This isn't a quest. Even if it was, the Gods' helping the demigods has happened before. Twenty six years ago to be exact." She said.

"The Great war..." We both breathed.

"Exactly. The Gods weren't fighting by your parents' side only because the big threat was away from Olympus. History is repeating itself in such a short period of time. The players may have changed, the circumstances and the time frame too, but other than that, the game is still the same." She said confusing us both.

"What do you mean mom?" I asked beating Liam to it.

"I'll tell you when we're through what Liam wants to do." She answered and the next moment the scenery changed and, but I could tell we were still in this damn hole.

"Liam! You're back!" A voice I didn't know said, but I couldn't see anyone around there.

"You knew?" Liam asked looking up. When I did too, I saw a man spinning around a winged wheel.

"No, I didn't. But when the titans ran past here screaming "he's here. The great male is here," I put two and two together. How come you're still alive." He asked as I went to stand close to my boyfriend. My mother was nowhere to be found though.

"With some luck and help from the Gods of Olympus." He replied looking a little sad. Why was that though? "I'm sorry for bringing them up, but they've always been good to me. They're my family. I'm also sorry for lying."

"Well... I can't say I like being lied to or the fact that you're in favor of the Gods." He said huffing. "If you had been through what I have, you'd feel the same way though." The unidentified man replied.

"We've been through worse, Ixion." Liam said. Ixion! The man that lusted after Hera...

"What could possibly be worse that this?" Ixion asked pointing at the wheel with his head and huffed.

"Having your unborn child murdered." I spoke up for the first time since my mother transferred us here. His head turned to me and I could see the sadness and pity in his eyes.

"I guess it could be worse." Ixion said mostly to himself and we nodded. "But if they're family to you, why would they kill your child?"

"Zeus did it. I've never considered him as a family member. He has wanted me dead ever since the prophecy about me was heard." Liam answered with pure hate in his voice.

"Did you kill him like you did with Typhon?" He asked.

"News travel fast around here, don't they?" Liam asked back and Ixion nodded. "No, I didn't. I should have, but he has to be kept alive in order for Olympus to prevail."

"Liam, do what you have to. We must get going." My mother said appearing in front of us.

"Right. Ixion, try to stay as still as possible." LJ said.

"Like I could go anywhere." Ixion said chuckling. Liam pulled away from me and twisted his ring unclasping Achilles. He kept looking up at Ixion, but knowing him I could see that he was focused on the wheel and how it moving. He was calculating the spins for a few short seconds before taking a step back and bringing his sword up and over his shoulder holding it like a spear.

"Stay still." He said once.

"Kid? What are you doing?" Ixion asked scared.

"Just stay still." Liam said again.

"NO!" Ixion yelled right before Liam threw his sword with all his might at the wheel. With his perfect calculation, Achilles went right through Ixion's chains to the wheel and he was freed.

"You can open your eyes, Ixion. You're safe." My mother said as Ixion ran his hands all over himself.

"I'm alive?" He wondered out loud and we chuckled. The lady of the night brought him down then and he went to hug Liam. "Thank you kiddo!" He kept saying over and over again.

"Ixion!" Liam yelled pushing him back. "We need to get going." He continued nodding at my mother who nodded back and transferred us to another part of this hellhole. "Mel! Watch out." Liam said and pulled me to him as a gigantic boulder almost run me over.

"Thanks LJ." I said relaxing in his arms. A man came down the hill running with his hands raised.

"I'm so sorry. It's not my fault. That boulder rolls down by its own. Nice to see you again Liam." The man said looking at Liam. Then looked at the other inmate. "Ixion?"

"Yes, Sisyphus. Liam released me from my torment, my friend." Ixion said and hugged his friend.

"Ixion, only the Gods can release you from your torment, Liam did it temporarily. Until Tartarus is sealed again by its ruler." Nyx said and the two inmates looked confused.

"How do you expect him to seal this place again? If he's now free, why would he put restrain himself in here?" Sisyphus asked. Seems like he didn't know of Typhon's death.

"If you know my name is Liam, how come you don't know about what I've done?" LJ asked.

"You weren't prepared when you talked to me, so it was obvious that you were lying. Then calling yourself LJ? I figured. Now answer my question." He replied looking at my boyfriend. Liam unclasped Achilles in that moment.

"See this? This blade, forged by Hephaestus himself and given to me, has the power to kill Gods and Titans. I already managed to kill Typhon and if Tartarus doesn't agree to sealing this place, I will kill him." Liam said in determination. "But for now I'll need your help." he continued looking at Ixion and Sisyphus.

"Our help? We're just some regular mortals." Sisyphus pointed out.

"Not both of you. Am I right, Ixion?" Liam asked raising his eye-brow. Where was he going with this? After a minute's silence, Ixion spoke.

"I may a son of Ares, but what makes you think I'll help the Olympians?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm the one asking for help. Not them. I know what you've been through and who is responsible for that. I've studied the Greek history to the fullest after all. Zeus threw you in here, but he also made my girlfriend miscarry. I want him dead more than anything and I'm sure that's how you feel towards the rest of the Gods, but they're not like him. They are kind, merciful and follow the justice of things. They are also my family, so I'm asking you to help me save my family and the world as we know it." Liam finished his little speech.

"Will you kill Zeus in the end?" They asked in unison.

"No matter how much I want to, I can't because that would endanger the world. I would have already done it, if there was a chance that it wouldn't affect the world." Liam said sincerely.

"If you can vouch for them, I'll help you." Ixion said patting Liam's back.

"Well, I would if I could. But not only am I an ordinary human, but I can't stay away from that boulder." Sisyphus said and Liam threw his sword with all his might at it, which made it shatter.

"No boulder, no torment." Liam simply said.

"You have me by your side then Liam Kai Jackson." He said bowing.

"Thank you both. I'll make sure that bastard releases you from your torment." Liam said in determination once again.

"Now, we're done with this, let us focus on Tartarus." My mother said looking at Liam.

"What happens if I kill him?" He asked being in full strategy planning mode.

"You can't. Not before he seals this place again." she answered.

"Okay then. I have a plan." He said and gathered us around in a circle. This will be eventful...

**Hate us much...? Hopefully not. Anyway, going to the beach now, so... bye... for now.**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	23. The battle

**Hi guys! Sorry for the late update but we got back from our one-week vacation yesterday and got down to typing this. Good thing about out time away is that with my brother away with us too, Sara had time to catch up! Good to have you back! Also Alex (**_hufflepuff4life__**) **_**is back (yay!) Hope you had a good time in you vacation. We did. Now we don't know where the other Alex is. :( For when you read this... You're awesome too. Akai, who was previously missing, came back too, with a nice question. You'll see how good or bad of a planner Liam is. Kayla, I wonder what you learned in the previous chapter...? (I'm too bored to get up, so...) big brother, I honestly don't care if you hate me and Tony or not. You're not going to see the drafts, suck it up and wait like everybody else. :) Ben, we hope you're having a good time in France (!) and thank you for taking the time to review from there. Hmmm... Big intro. Let's just stop here... Enjoy!**

**Chapter 23: The battle**

**Abby's POV**

Liam, my friend and brother, went in that endless pit just under three days ago. Only a few hours later his girlfriend was abducted by Erebus, her own uncle, and as we later found out, all that just so he was able to blackmail LJ into killing the king of the Gods. As if that wasn't enough, Erebus and his brother, Tartarus, were planning to send out their army of monsters to Olympus in an attempt to take over the center of our civilization, which meant that us demigods had to defend it like our parents had twenty six years ago.

We took only the oldest of demigods and went to Olympus, where we were met with Amber and a whole bunch of other demigods the next day. That's when the planning began. Since now there was only one entrance to the underworld and that's where the monsters would come from, we knew where they would attack us from, which gave us the advantage of knowing where to place everyone. Percy, Thalia and Alex because of their immense power would have to be positioned in a way that their distances were even. Thalia would be put in the middle of our front line with Alex and Percy on the sides. Ben would be close to Alex, Annabeth close to Percy and lastly Nico close to Thalia. The rest of us would be in between Thalia and either Percy or Alex. Owen, me, mom and dad would be on Percy's side, while Amanda, Mike, Clarisse and Chris would be on Alex's. Behind our first line, the best archers of demigods would be accompanied by the huntresses of Artemis and the rest demigods. But it wasn't the monsters we were all afraid of. It was Briareus's brothers, who were to be dealt with by Briareus and the Gods. If the Hecatonchires got past them, nothing would save us.

We were all at place when the monsters made their appearance. The humans were asleep in their homes so we were free to charge without having to worry about their safety as well. Percy, Alex and Thalia gave the order to the archers and they all fired their arrows at our enemies effectively bringing some of them down. We charged at the monsters and the Gods charged at the Hecatonchires, but right before they collided with them, Nyx disappeared confusing me.

"Abby, focus!" Owen yelled from next to me. And then we collided with their forces. All that could heard was the sound of swords touching and the grunts of both sides. I had just finished off two telekhines when I saw a cyclops ready to kill Owen, so I just drew my bow and shot it.

"Who needs to focus now, big boy?" I asked snickering.

"Just shut up..." He said and attacked a fury.

* * *

**Amanda's POV**

Our war had just begun and we were all fighting those monsters. I didn't know about the others, but all I could think about was what Liam always told me. Things I should be careful about. Things like never charge first unless sure of victory. He always said: "_Let them make the mistake of attacking first. Just observe first. Feint making a move just to see how your opponent reacts."_So that's what I did, when I found a cyclops in front of me. I observed and feinted an attack. When I did that, he took a right step back. Which reminded me of Liam again. _"If they take a step back, you'll know their weakness. The foot they drag is their strong one, so attack the other side so as to make them have their weak foot back." _

And so I did. I attacked his left side as he tried to strike my back. I dodge it making him have to change the position of his feet bringing the right to the front and the left to the back. Thinking that I had made it, I didn't give him time to move and charged. I stumbled, though, and fell to the ground. When I turned around, I found the cyclops ready to kill me and tried to stay strong for what was about to come.

"AMANDA!" I heard Mike's voice and the next moment the cyclops was shot somewhere to the side. Mike was by my side in an instant and I could see the electricity run through his body. When he touched me, it didn't hurt me though. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. How did you do that?" I asked amazed. The electricity around us didn't let anyone hurt us.

"You motivated me I guess... Come on." He said offering me his hand which I took gladly and we went back to fighting.

* * *

**Alex's POV**

"Keep on shooting though bastards!" I yelled at our archers blasting away some monsters. Seeing Amanda fall once again and the cyclops ready to kill her, I was about to blast that one away too, but didn't get the chance since Mike did it. It seems all he needed was a little push and the possibility of Amanda dying gave him that releasing his powers.

"Mike, tell your mother to close the gap between her and Percy!" Ben yelled as Mike helped Amanda up. He then looked at me and his eyes widened. "Alex, behind you!" I turned around and saw an Empusa about to push her teeth into my skin, but suddenly turned into golden dust like all monsters do when killed. But there was no one around that could have done that.

"You should watch your back, Al." Someone said but I couldn't see where the voice came from. It was ragged, but familiar. Then the person it belonged to finally made her appearance and I threw myself in her arms protecting us with water.

"Melanie!" I yelled as everyone around us kept fighting. Behind her there were two men and a hurt Zeus.

"Alex, we have to fight." She said pushing me back.

"Can you fight?" I asked and pushed off some monsters with a wave of water.

"I'm guessing you know..." She trailed off killing a telekhine with her dagger as I nodded. "I can fight, Jackson."

"If you say so, Carter. Now let's kill some monsters." I said and it was her turn to nod.

"Get someone to take Sisyphus and that asshole away from the battlefield and give Ixion a sword." She instructed and I did as she asked. Sisyphus and Zeus were taken in and up on the 600th floor of the Empire State building.

"Where's Liam?" I asked as we fought the monsters side by side.

"He's leading the monsters to battle." She said and all the demigods that heard her, me included, gasped.

* * *

**Liam's POV**

When we got out of the Underworld, everyone was fighting. The demigods against the monsters, the Gods and Briareus against his brothers and the Titans that were freed the moment Nyx stepped into Tartarus.. My plan was simple and unless something went bad, it would be effective. All I had to do is send Melanie and the two inmates away from the monsters' lines and to our side, while pretending to lead these fools against my family.

"They've come across Zeus and taken him to Olympus." Nyx said as I made my way to the Hecatonchires.

"Can you please don't mention him?" I pleaded a little bit too forcefully.

"I just wanted you to know. Are you sure about this?" She asked.

"As sure as I can be. Let's hope this sword can kill Hecatonchires too or we're screwed." I said increasing my speed. "Is Melanie okay?"

"She is. Focus on what you have to do. They'll protect her." She said patting my back as I ran.

"Okay. Go help the Gods." I ordered and she nodded before leaving. "It's just you and me now boys..." I trailed off when I finally got to the monsters. "COTTUS!" I yelled at one of the two Hecatonchires that had sided with Tartarus's forces. He didn't seem to notice me, so I stoke his leg both to get his attention and to see if my plan had any chance of working. Thankfully the blade went right though his skin like it was just a thin layer of paper. He yelped and one of his hundred hands came down to pick me up squishing me a little.

"You must be the great male." He said trying to squish me a little more but I provided him with a scratch. "Ouch!"

"I'm on your side idiot. No matter how much I despise you, I can't let anything happen to my girlfriend." I lied putting on the most furious of faces.

"So Tartarus succeeded in getting you on our side. Smart guy..." He said putting me on his shoulder.

"Yeah... He wants us to kill the Titans though. Something about not wanting them to rise or whatever. So get your brother to attack them, while you get me close to them so I can kill them." I ordered.

"Of course great male. Gyges! Attack the Titans." He said and Gyges started throwing rock at the Titans as Cottus tried to get me close to Coeus, but he and the rest of the fled when they saw me. "What now Liam?"

"_Liam...?" _My grandfather's voice trailed off in my head.

"Let me think about it for a minute." I told Briareus's brother and he nodded his gigantic head. _"Just keep on fighting, grandpa." _I yelled in my thoughts.

"_Let me handle the rest of the Gods. You focus on your target." _Nyx was getting on my nerves. _"I heard that."_

"_It's true. I know what I have to do." _I said and pushed my blade in Cottus's neck. He didn't have time to react before he started falling to the ground. _"Okay... My plan lacks something... AHHHHH!" _I yelled both out loud and in my thoughts. I kept falling and falling. In a few minutes I'd make an impact with the ground that would kill me. Such a stupid way to die when you're capable of so many things.

"_Fool! I told you to focus. Not kill yourself!" _Nyx yelled right before I found myself on something. It wasn't the ground...

"Cloud?" I asked mostly myself.

"_Always here for you man." _He said. Cloud was my Pegasus, Blackjack's son and my best friend. We grew up together as he was born and given to me when I was five. He was there through most things. Always there when I trained and encouraging me when I reached my limits. Unlike his father he was pure white, which is also why I named him Cloud. When I was off to college, I had told him to go and come back only when I came and he wanted to. He couldn't pick a better time.

"You have no idea how glad I am that you're here." I said when I had sat properly.

"_Probably not. How about we finish off that one?" _He asked turning his head towards Gyges. _"Well you'll do the killing part."_

"Without attempting to kill myself this time, right?" I asked rubbing his neck.

"_If you could avoid that, it'd be good." _He said and kind of chuckled.

"Just get me to his neck. It's the only place I can actually hurt him enough to kill him." I ordered unclasping Achilles once again. When I'd fallen, it turned into a ring and returned to my right hand. But now...

"_Whatever you say smart-ass." _I chuckled at the nickname he used before he maneuvered through Gyges's hundred hands to his shoulder where I jumped off and quickly went for his neck. Pushing Achilles in and twisting it, making sure I had killed the beast, I removed it and whistled. Cloud came and I jumped on his back again. The monsters, seeing that their two most valuable and powerful assets they had, started to make their retreat, so Cloud and I flew to my family. When I got off his back, mom was the first to pull me in her arms.

"Don't you ever do anything like that EVER again!" She yelled in my ear.

"Mom, I'm fine. Where's Melanie?" I asked looking in the crowd.

"Right here." She said in her ragged voice and I ran to her picking her up in the process.

"Are you okay?" I asked checking on her.

"I'm fine. Just some scratches." She reassured me smiling weakly. I knew she was anything BUT fine, but let it slide for now. Everyone hugged me congratulating me for my victory, but I knew I wasn't done yet.

"Where's that fucker?" I asked as Melanie buried her face in my chest.

"On the 600th floor. Sisyphus took him." Alex said tying a piece of cloth around her arm.

"How is he?" I asked again. All I cared about was if he was alive. If he was, I had gotten my revenge and World War three would erupt. If he wasn't, the world would remain the way it was.

"_Why don't you come and see for yourself?" _A snickering, bitter voice suggested in my head. Even though I had heard it only once, I knew who it was. I also knew that this would be the end.

"Aphrodite! Apollo! Ares! Artemis! Athena! Hades! Hermes! Hephaestus! Nyx! Poseidon!" I called the names of my nine protectors and Melanie's mother and they all came. After they all gave me congratulatory hugs too, I spoke: "Take care of them as I take care of him." They nodded knowing that when I said them, I meant specifically Melanie.

"What happened?" My family started asking, but Melanie answered for me.

"His plan worked." She said and kissed me passionately before I ran to the elevator with the 600th floor as my destination.

**Hmm... The end of the drama, the war, the battles is nearing its end. After a little something, it'll be just fluff... Don't know how many chapters till the official end, but I'm guessing it will be at least 7 more? We'll see. For now, we hope you liked it. :) Pretty funny at some parts, don't you think?**

**And Mike... I know you sent part of this to yourself through an e-mail before we were done. Next time delete it from the outbox. :P**


	24. The plan and Olympus

**Chapter 24: The Plan and Olympus**

**Melanie's POV**

"His plan worked? What is that supposed to mean?" Annabeth asked me as my boyfriend disappeared in the elevator.

"He wanted to get Tartarus somewhere where he could fight him without problem even if Erebus made an appearance." Ixion answered for me.

"But how? What was his plan?" Alex asked coming to wrap her arms around me.

"My brother wants Zeus dead so that his absence results in chaos and discord between the Gods. I can't know what he plans to do while the world is in chaos, but I know it won't be good." My mother said.

"Liam used that will of Tartarus for destruction and anarchy. He made us find Zeus and get him to Olympus. I was the one that had to get him to the elevator, where Liam was sure that Tartarus would be waiting." Sisyphus explained.

"Liam knows Olympus like the back of his hand. He knows where everything is. Every rock, every pillar, every step. He doesn't need to see in order to fight, so if Erebus does get the guts to help his brother, Liam will be fine. Like mom said, Tartarus wants Zeus dead..." I was cut off by Jenny.

"But with your being safe and sound here, he doesn't need to kill him." She said.

"Mom, even I want to kill him after what he did." Amanda said holding onto Mike as all the guys and me nodded. Even the Gods did too.

"Let's go help him." Percy suggested and everyone cheered. Everyone except Annabeth and me.

"You know you can't help him Seaweed Brain. It's his battle no matter how much I hate that." Annabeth said and a sob escaped her.

"All we can do is wait and you can also watch over him." I said looking at the Gods who immediately closed their eyes and concentrated on Liam.

"Screw the rules! If anything happens, I'm going up there. I won't let my champ get hurt!" Ares said in determination.

"Well, I'm going now!" _She_ said and ran to the elevator as all of us stood in shock not being able to move.

"NO!" We yelled when we were able to move and ran after _her._

* * *

**Liam's POV**

My plan was simple. Make Tartarus think that I wasn't after him and lure him on Olympus with Zeus as the bait. Going after the Hecatonchires not only did it help with fooling Tartarus, but also eliminated the threat of Cottus and Gyges. When I was planning it in my head, I thought that with them gone, the monsters would be easy to deal with. I didn't expect them to pull back like they did, but I sure as hell wasn't going to complain.

So I fooled Cottus into thinking I was on his side and made him bring me close to his neck where I stroke killing him. As it turned out, my plan had a little flaw. Killing one of the Hecatonchires was easy. Getting off of him after he was dead wasn't though. If it wasn't for Cloud, the impact I would make with the ground would kill me instantly. But Cloud was there and nothing happened to me.

Meanwhile, Melanie and the two inmates had one simple task to complete. Find Zeus and get to Olympus. After they found him, they would go to our front line, Ixion and Melanie would stay and fight with the others, no matter how much I didn't want Melanie to fight, while Sisyphus would take Zeus to the elevator and then find a good hiding spot until the battle was over. He wasn't a demigod after all like the rest of us.

So when the battle was over and I heard Tartarus's voice in my head confirming that my plan, despite its little flaw, was successful, I ran to the elevator. While waiting to get to the 600th floor, I tried to calm down and kept thinking of everything I knew and had to do. My training, the grounds of Olympus, my enemy, his flaws and weaknesses, the possibility that Erebus mans up and comes to his brother's aid... Everything.

I tried to forget Zeus's presence in this because I was really close to killing him after what he's put me and my family through. First trying to kill me when I was baby and now he didn't even give my child a chance to live. Ever since Nyx held me back pleading with me to think before I acted, I have been trying to do the right thing... for the world. Because for me, killing that bastard was what's right. If anyone ticked me off, I don't know how I'd react. I'd just try my best to do no wrong.

"_I see you have the guts to come up here..." _He thought snickering.

"Why don't you just show yourself?" I asked closing my eyes and unclasping Achilles.

"Neither of them is hiding, little brat. They're waiting for you in the Olympian throne room." Selene said and although I didn't have my eyes open, I knew she was gritting her teeth by the tone in her voice. I just chuckled opening my eyes.

"You've yet to make me pay, bitch. Oh wait... Now, I've got to pay for Lyssa's and your brother's death, right?" I asked tapping my chin as she huffed and went towards the throne room. Knowing I couldn't postpone it any longer and that this might be the only chance to make Nyx's impulse right, I gripped my sword tightly and followed after the daughter of Hyperion. Since they were waiting for me there was no point in exhausting myself by running there so I just lazily walked there.

Walking through my mother's Olympus brought back many memories from my childhood. Little things like the strategy and philosophy lessons with my grandmother I underwent, Hera's and Zeus's disapproving looks whenever a God brought me up here. Or even major things like my grandparents giving me the sword that could kill them or my sister's birth. I may have been only two and a half at the time, but I still remember my second winter solstice when the Gods invited many of the eldest demigods, which included my parents. My mother was in the middle of her seventh month with no indication that she would go into labor prematurely so my parents had decided that our going to the party wouldn't do any harm. But no... Alex decided to make her appearance a month and a half earlier than supposed to, so my mother was laid down on the spot that Tartarus was now standing: the middle of the throne room.

"I see you made it." He said not seeming surprised.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked in the same tone.

"Any other demigod would have been dead after dealing with Titans, the Hecatonchires and everything..." He said shrugging. "But I guess that why you're called the great male."

"How about you tell me what you want so we can get this over with?" I asked even though I already knew there was nothing he wanted other than my killing Zeus.

"You know what I want, Liam." He replied and stepped out of the way revealing a bleeding Zeus tied to his throne with Atlas's chains. On either side of him he had Erebus and Selene waiting for Tartarus's orders. "All I want is for you to finish what you started. Kill him." He finished pointing to the king of the Gods.

"If I do, will you seal your domain again?" I asked trying to see if I could bargain with him.

"Sure. As long as you finish him off." He said nodding.

"And go back in there with all your inmates?" I asked again and he raised his eye-brows.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Liam. I'm enjoying my freedom and I'm sure my inmates do too." he answered snickering.

"Then there is no way in hell I'm killing him." I said in determination.

"Not even after what he did to your unborn child? If he hadn't upset your girlfriend, she'd still be expecting your child and on your next birthday you'd be a father..." he said trying to infuriate me. The bad thing about the situation was that he was succeeding.

"I can't... I can't do that to the world." I said trying with everything I had to calm down.

"Why not? It's not the world we're talking about. It's your child's murderer." He said and I started trembling from my anger making the ground move too...

"Liam, don't listen to him!" My favourite aunt yelled running to me. "You know why you can't kill Zeus."

"Amy... He..." I trailed off looking murderously at the king of the Gods.

"I know what he did, Liam. But why do you want to stoop to his level? You've been brought up better than that." she said putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Daughter of Poseidon, I really suggest you stay out of this." Tartarus warned but Amy ignored him.

"You've always known what your fatal flaw is. Don't let your anger get the best of you." She said softly.

"I warned you." Tartarus said and turned to the other people in the room. "Erebus..." He trailed off and the room started to fill with darkness. But I didn't need the light to fight.

"Is that the best you got?" I asked closing my eyes.

"Not everyone here can fight in the dark LJ." Erebus said and even though no one could see it, my eyes went wide. I could hear him move towards us, but Amy was unable to do so which made her an easy target for him and he managed to push her away before I had the chance to react.

"Amy!" I yelled.

"Li..." Her yell was muffled by someone's hand probably. Everyone in the room, apart from me and Zeus, started moving making it impossible for me to distinguish which feet belonged to who confusing me. I had two people that I could easily kill without a care in the world of their fate, one I had to capture and make him seal his domain, one I couldn't kill and one that I wished I could kill, but shouldn't.

"Five targets great male. Four moving, one standing still. What are you going to do?" Tartarus asked revealing his position, so I blast him away with some water. Someone came up behind me thinking I hadn't noticed them and stroke down but I easily blocked. From the lack of force in the strike, I could tell it was Selene, which meant that not only was I free to kill her, but also that Amy was held by Erebus.

"Is this how you were going to make me pay?" I asked chuckling and pushed back against her sword. We both twisted our blades against each other, but since I was stronger, it was hers that went flying somewhere to the side and a yelp was heard. I grabbed Selene by the neck and pushed Achilles in her gut. She started dissolving into dust like I had seen Typhon do a little while after I chopped his head off. Someone started clapping and chuckling.

"Congratulations LJ. You truly are a great fighter. But if you weren't fighting in the dark you'd now know that Selene's sword went right through your aunt's skin..." Tartarus said chuckling. OH MY GODS! The yelp! It was Amy... "Erebus just let her plop down. She's fulfilled her purpose." I saw red! I waited for the sound of Amy being put down to locate them. When it came, I threw my sword with all my might to him and ran that way. Erebus groaned in pain. I grabbed the handle of Achilles and started twisting it making sure that he would die. Sure enough he started dissolving, so I knelt to check on my aunt. I didn't dare to pull out the sword in case I started an internal bleeding or anything.

"Amy... Please talk to me." I pleaded crying.

"Tell them... I love... them..." She said in between breaths and went limp. Passed out or dead, I couldn't be sure. Someone touched my shoulder and I instinctively grabbed my sword, turned around and pushed it in that someone's gut.

"Liam..." he breathed yelping. When I realized what I'd done my eyes went wide again in the dark.

**Yes... We're mean. We know, but we're also sure that someone will appreciate the cliffy. Isn't that right, Ben? Anyway... I don't think you expected something like that, did you?**

**Oh you have Mike to thank for the update, since he made me stay up till 4:20 to type this because he "couldn't wait" or something similar. Αδελφουλη εισαι τυχερος που ειχα την καλη διαθεση. Τωρα ομως παω στις αγγαλες του Μορφεα... Ή μαλλον του Αντωνη μου :)**

**Good night from me people. If Tony wasn't sleeping senselessly like a pig next to me, I'm sure he'd say that too. :)**


	25. Restoring the pact

**Hello guys! Before anything else, we reached (well you reached) 355 reviews! The 350th was Ben (**_citizen of the world_**) to whom we promised a reference as a gift for that. So congrats to Ben! And we're glad you enjoyed the cliffy so much. We knew you would. Now... we know we are evil. We know you "hate" us (at least I hope the quotations are needed), but you gotta admit that you love the twists. In this chapter there are many points where you'll gasp and fear for what's gonna happen next. We just hope you'll enjoy this. :)**

**Chapter 25: Restoring the pact**

**Liam's POV**

I could recognize his voice everywhere. He's been by my side my whole life helping me in training, encouraging me and telling me not to give up whenever I reached my limits... Since Erebus was now dead, the light was returning to the room killing my hopes and leaving no doubt as to who received my blade. How could I do that to the God of war?

"Ares..." I breathed pulling back Achilles. He fell on his knees and groaned in pain. Looking behind him, I could see everyone else coming as well. When they saw Ares and Amy down though, they stopped dead on their tracks and looked at the three of us gasping.

"Catch him..." Ares said yelping again before going limp as Hera looked at me murderously. For the first time in my life I knew why she looked at me that way and couldn't agree more. I had probably just done what Zeus did to me: kill her child.

"Liam, GO! I'll take care of them." Apollo said pushing me away and patting my back. What did he mean though? Take care of them as in heal them or look after their bodies?

"Liam!" Melanie yelled in my ear bringing me back to this gruesome reality. The reality of my aunt's and uncle's death. Both by my hand. "Go after him!" She yelled again, but this time buried her face in my chest. I never noticed him leaving though. I was too much in my own world. If they died and lost my probably only chance to make things right for the world, they would have died for nothing and I couldn't let that happen.

Crying and with guilt filling every corner of my mind, I pushed Melanie off of me and ran out of the throne room not daring to look anyone in the eyes after what I had done. When I was out of there, I tried to figure out where he had gone, but it was impossible since I had caused him no harm what so ever. But once again, I received the help of Melanie's mother.

"He's gone to the auditorium." She said standing next to me. "He won't leave yet seen as he wants to know what will happen with Ares, but you still need to hurry."

"What does he want now? I've probably killed my own aunt and uncle!" I said starting to make my way towards the auditorium, but she followed me so I had to ask. "Do you know how they are?" I asked hopeful she wouldn't tell me I had murdered two members of my family.

"I don't know, Liam. Apollo hasn't had a good look at them yet." She said. She may not have told me some good news, but at least she didn't crash my hopes...yet. "You need to focus now though."

"I know. I lost my focus once and we all saw what that resulted to." I said remembering how I found Amy and my face fell a little again.

"Stop thinking about anything other than my brother!" She yelled in my ear and I nodded. She was right after all. I had to deal with Tartarus before anything else. With that thought in mind and Nyx by my side, I entered the auditorium.

"Show yourself coward!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Don't you dare call me a coward ever again, brat." He said in a menacing tone and appeared in one of the seats.

"I don't know about you, but I call hiding behind your brother's powers being a coward. Or walking away when things get ugly." I said lazily swinging my sword also careful not to hurt Nyx.

"Then what do you call yourself? You whole life you've been aided by the Gods. Even now, my sister is standing by your side." He said, but that's when I got an idea.

"True..." I trailed off and he seemed pretty proud of himself. "BUT... even if they've given me the training, the weapons and the advice, I have been the one to do all the hard work. It was _I_ that killed all the monsters. _I've_ managed to fool your inmate into believing I was one of them. _I_ was the one to kill your son. _I_ killed the Hecatonchires. And most importantly, _I_ killed your beloved brother and his bitch." I said and it was obvious that my words got to him.

"And you'll pay for all that... after you kill the rest of the Olympians." He said through gritted teeth. Seems like anger is someone else's flaw too.

"Oh yeah? Who will you sent to kill me this time? Because I'm sure you're too much of a coward to take me on by yourself." I challenged snickering and it seemed to work because he drew his two-handed sword. Thankfully, Nyx caught on on what I was trying to do and helped.

"Why would he take you on on his own when he know he'll lose? He's not that stupid. His plan proves it after all." She said and Tartarus huffed.

"STOP CALLING ME A COWARD!" He yelled.

"But you are one..." Both Nyx and I said shrugging.

"I'm not!" He yelled again.

"Prove it." I spat.

"How do you want me to prove it?" He fell right in my trap because of his great ego.

"Simple. Fight me one on one. No special powers included. Just you, me and our weapons." I said and saw him debating on it. All he needed was a little push, which Nyx provided.

"Nah... He'd never do that, Liam." Before she could say more, Tartarus lifted his sword.

"How do you want this to play out? What do I get when I beat you?" He asked scoffing.

"Whatever you want. All I want if I beat you is for you to seal yourself and the inmates in your domain." I said and although I expected him to refuse, he...

"Done, because you'll never beat me." He agreed.

"What do you want if you win this one, though?" Nyx asked.

"I want him to finish what he started, my dear sister. Kill the rest of the Olympians." He said and her expression changed to worry. She didn't believe in me...

"_I do believe in you, Liam. If I didn't I wouldn't be standing next to you. I'm just worried he'll use some kind of trick._" She answered in my thoughts.

"_Not if I have a say in this." _I replied to her worry. "Tartarus, since you're so sure of yourself, you wouldn't mind swearing to the River Styx, right?" I asked snickering. Nyx gasped and patted my back.

"Swear what?" He asked back.

"Swear that you'll give me a fair fight and that, if I win, you'll comply to my request." I answered.

"Very well... But you have to do the same." he said.

"I swear by the River Styx not to use my special powers other than my weapons and, if beaten, to comply to your request by killing the rest of the Olympians." I said specifically so no misunderstanding took place. Now it was his turn.

"I swear by the River Styx not to use any of my power other than my weapons and, if beaten, to grant you your wish by sealing myself and my inmates in my domain." He said. "Now let's get this over with."

We both stepped forward and met in the middle of the room as Nyx stayed away. I would probably use just my sword, but I unclasped Ancile as well, just to be sure. He, on the other hand, just held on his two-handed sword tightly. I waited for him to make the first move and I have to say I was surprised when he did. He lifted his sword up in the air and as he went to strike down, he kicked me in the leg as I tried to block his blow. What surprised me though, was that he had some sort of dagger or something similar in his shoe, because after the kick I groaned in pain and blood started running down my leg. I blocked his sword attack and pushed him back taking a few backward steps to check on my leg. A little below the knew there was a deep cut which made me limp.

"You swore!" I said groaning in pain.

"I swore that I would only use my weapons." he said and lifted his foot revealing the sharp end of his shoe. "I'm only being fair, great male." He said snickering.

"Don't give up, Liam!" Nyx yelled from the side. Like hell, I'd give up! I hadn't lost so much already to give up now!

Instead, I straightened up, threw Ancile to the side which returned as an armband in my left arm and gripped Achilles with both hands trying to ignore the shard pain in my leg. I started running to him and went for his side, on the opposite side of his blade. He managed to block it with the handle of his sword and as he tried to push back the tip on my blade, I stepped on his with my good leg trying to keep it there. When he saw that he couldn't move his weapon without receiving Achilles in the gut, he did the next thing he could think of: punched me. So hard that I got dizzy and had to step back releasing his sword. The strength of his punch was incredible, but what else could I expect when fighting a primordial God?

"How about we stop as it's obvious that I'll win?" He suggested placing the tip on the ground and supported himself on the handle of his weapon, which gave me another idea. "I wouldn't want you to faint of anything..." When the words left his mouth, I reached to my side where I had placed the one dagger Melanie gave me back when she went with Ixion and Sisyphus to do their part of my plan. I gripped it tightly and threw it with as much force as I could master.

I wasn't a fool. I knew that dagger couldn't hurt him, which is why my target was the middle of his blade. When the dagger collided with the it, the forced made it tremble and Tartarus lost his balance falling to the ground. He kept pushing himself back as, once again trying to ignore the pain, I ran to him and kicked his sword away. I scratched his legs and arms slightly so as not to kill him, but also make him feel some pain. I put Achilles to his neck as he groaned in pain and I kept looking at him panting.

"I think... you were just... beaten, Tartarus." I said between deep breaths as Nyx and a few others, mostly demigods, cheered.

"I don't think so..." he trailed off pushing the dagger I had thrown at him into my bad leg making me scream in pain and he used that opportunity to get up groaning and grab his sword again as I took steps back with the little knife in my leg having not had time to remove it since he charged immediately. I couldn't block his attacks with just my sword, so I unclasped Ancile just in time to block his continuous strikes and kept on doing that for a couple of minutes.

If it went on like this, I would lose. I knew that. Everything in me told me that. The pain and the grief I felt being the most dominant. What kept me going though, was the trust and faith everyone seemed to have in me. I wanted to win not just for me, but them. I was fighting better with my eyes closed, so if I wanted to have a chance in this one, I had to do that. And I did. I closed my eyes, removed the knife from my leg, while blocking his never-ending attacks, and cleared my head of everything that had happened. No "quests". No wars. No miscarriages. No deaths. No pain. Nothing other than my enemy.

His moves were inconsistent because of the rage that fueled his strikes and the pain I had caused him. His attacks were high and foolish, but full of force. Crouched as I was, I did the simplest of things: went for his leg. Since he wasn't careful, I had no problem achieving my goal of further injuring his leg. Like I had done the first time he caused the deep cut just below my knee, he took a few steps back. But his injuries were greater than mine which also caused him to drop his sword. I got up from my crouch, turned Ancile into an armband once again and walked to him as he kept limping backwards. When I reached him, I pushed Achilles into his shoulder, like I had done with Zeus, careful not to kill him. He fell on his knees as I opened my eyes and looked at him.

"This is the end. Next thing will be your death, but since I'm sure you don't want that, say the words." I said panting.

"I need at least one... one of my siblings to... seal that... seal that place." he replied breathing equally hard. I turned my gaze to Nyx and she nodded before coming to us.

"Say the words, Tartarus." She said expectantly.

"I hereby... consider our pact... unbroken and... and seal down my domain effective immediately." He said, but he didn't seem to have a plan to keep on so I twisted my blade a little making him scream.

"You have more to say..." I trailed off.

"All inmates and myself... are to return to the pit of hell... No one shall leave unless... their crime is forgiven by... by the Gods of Olympus... The pact is to be... broken only if... you, my sister, enter my domain... uninvited... Do you... accept these terms?" He asked looking at his sister.

"I do and also consider the pact intact." She answered and he started dissolving. What the fuck? "It's over Liam!" Nyx cheered.

"Did I kill him?" I asked confused.

"No, you didn't. But with the pact intact he and all inmates returned to his domain." She replied.

"That also means that..." I trailed off.

"Yes, Liam. It does." She answered.

**YES! Tartarus's threat is gone... NO! You don't know what's happening with Ares, Amy and LJ. You will next chapter. For now... bye! :)**

**Catherine &Tony P.**


	26. Getting him back

**Chapter 26: Getting him back**

**Liam's POV**

"Come on... Let's get you back to the throne room." Nyx said and I nodded. When I went to take a step though, I was reminded by the pain and fell on my knees grunting. While I was fighting Tartarus, the adrenaline and my determination made it "easy" to ignore the wounds, but now it was all over, it was impossible to do so. Nyx was immediately knelt by my side checking up on me.

"Now the threat is gone... Why have you been helping me? I thought you hated me." It had been bugging me since the beginning of all this.

"I never hated you, Liam. I've always been in favor of you." She answered as some started to make their way to us.

"Then why didn't you want Melanie to be with me?" I asked confused.

"Because a relationship with someone as powerful and dangerous like you, who's also got a Great Prophecy on his hands wasn't something I wanted for my daughter. It has nothing to do with who you are, but what you were destined for." She answered.

"Lady Nyx, we can take it from here." My aunt Amber said placing my arm over her shoulder as Nyx nodded. "Charlie, come and help me." She yelled and Charlie, a son of Apollo who was a few years older than me, came forward and placed my other arm over his shoulder. "Nice moves LJ. Now let us take you back to the throne room."

"How are they, Amber?" I asked already feeling light-headed. The exhaustion had finally kicked in and adding my bleeding leg, I was surprised I hadn't fainted yet.

"I don't know, LJ. They sent us away right when we stepped our feet into that room. But it looks bad." She answered helping me go towards the throne room with Charlie.

"Just don't fall asleep yet, Liam." Charlie said and I was having a really hard time keeping my eyes open, so Amber, who of course saw that, slapped me waking me up a little.

"Don't close your eyes." She said sternly. In my drowsy state I didn't notice that we had reached the room where Apollo was still trying to save the God of war and my aunt. When mom, Alex and Melanie saw me, they screamed my name in unison and ran to me.

"Before you start going crazy, I'm fine... Just need to get to the sea or something." I said as Alex and Melanie replaced Amber and Charlie. Nyx was no where to be found.

"Cloud, get him back to camp and straight to the beach." mom said and Cloud came to stand right in front of me.

"I never asked... Who told you where I was, Cloud?" I asked touching his mane.

"_No one told me. Amy just jumped on my back and ordered me to fly her here." _He said and my face fell again. If he hadn't brought her, I wouldn't have hurt her. I then tried to get on him, but really couldn't.

"I'm going with him. Someone need to hold on to him." Melanie said.

"_I'm sure I can get both of you back in just a few minutes." _Cloud said nodding.

"Good. Cloud, could you kneel down a bit so he can easily get on?" Alex asked as Cloud did what he was told and I was helped to get on his back leaning in the front to hold on his neck the moment I was steady. Melanie got on behind me and held me at place as Alex turned to mom. "mom, we'll go back too since there is nothing we can do here."

"Okay, Al. But don't tell John anything yet." She told my sister who nodded and then turned to me. "Ares will probably be fine. He has been asking if you killed that bastard." I went to answer but she put her fingers on my lips and continued. "Don't worry. Nyx is telling him everything." That explained why Nyx had disappeared. "Amy isn't that well though."

"Meaning that I've..." I was about to say against Cloud's skin.

"No, you didn't kill her. She's still alive and fighting it, but even if she stops breathing, it won't be your fault, but Erebus's. You couldn't have known where that sword would end up. Now just make sure you're alright please." She said and waited for me to nod, before motioning Melanie to lean down. She then whispered in her ear thinking I wouldn't hear. "_Please take care of our baby." _

"_I will, Annabeth."_ My girlfriend whispered back as I dozed off.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV**

I watched as my children, their significant others and their friends left Olympus. Each couple in a different way of transportation. Liam and Melanie had taken my son's Pegasus, while the others took their cars. We all got scratched and had lost something in this war. For us the "elders" as they liked to call us, it was our students. Children we saw grow up to be exceptional young adults. For the demigods, it was their friends, people they looked up to, knew most of their lives... But for Liam and Melanie, including everything else, it was an innocent baby that would never get a chance to live because of how important its father is. Now it was all over and I had time to think, I admired them both for their courage. When I had fought with that manticore 27 years ago and thought I would lose Liam, I was devastated, but not only did they manage to pick themselves up, but they also joined us in the war. Liam even killed the two Hecatonchires, Erebus and Selene. I could only admire them.

Then we had the injuries. Apollo couldn't perfectly heal Ares, but everything seemed to be going well for him so all he needed was some rest. But Amy's status was still crucial. Apollo had healed all her wounds, but she had fallen into a coma way before he even got to her. Her state, according to Apollo, was most likely a result of her head hitting the ground with great force when Erebus threw her down. But no matter what caused it, the point was that Amy wasn't out of danger yet since we didn't know how responsive her brain was.

When I saw that they were out of sight, I sent away the rest of the demigods as well and made my way back to the entrance to the throne room, but that's when I saw my husband and my friends getting out with their faces down. It was obvious that they were sent away but I asked anyway.

"What are you doing out here?"

"They told us to get out of the room." Travis said shrugging.

"How are the kids?" Clarisse asked.

"Yeah... Nyx told us Liam was bad..." Percy said coming to wrap his arms around me.

"He's fine. His leg is bleeding from the fight and he's exhausted. A swim and a rest and he'll be fine. Physically at least." I answered and everyone's eyes got clouded with sorrow.

"The others?" Thalia asked looking around for them.

"You saw them. Just some scratches. Nothing too serious." I answered again. We stayed in silence for a few minutes before Travis decided to end it.

"So...since there is nothing we can do here, how about we return to camp as well?" he suggested and everyone turned to look at me. Percy, thankfully, saved me from any answering this time.

"Go ahead. We'll stay." He said and that's when everyone nodded in understanding. Amy was important to us all, but Percy and I have always had a closer relationship with her than the rest. We were the ones to raise her after all. She may be Percy's sister and my sister-in-law, but she was always more than that to us, more like a daughter, which is why we felt the need to stay here by her side even if we couldn't do anything to help her.

"Are you sure, sis?" Jenny asked escaping Travis's hold and coming to grab my hand.

"We are." I simply replied.

"Come on, Jen. Let's give them some privacy." Travis said and I shot him a look of gratitude. I waited for them to go as well and then turned to Percy burying my face in his chest, where I always found comfort.

"Once again it's over..." He whispered in my ear hugging me close.

"Is it, Seaweed Brain? What if Amy doesn't wake up?" I asked now crying and looking up at him. "What will we tell John then? Little David will grow up without his mother just like she did. He..." But Percy cut me off with his lips.

"Shh... Amy WILL wake up. She wouldn't do that to Liam, John or David. We just need to give her time." He said and I wanted to believe him. If she died Liam would forever blame himself, John would die inside since she was his love and wife, while David would have to grow up without her like I had said. "Let's take a walk, Wise Girl." He suggested wiping away my tears.

"But I don't want to leave her..." I trailed off.

"It wasn't a suggestion. We're going for a walk." He said sternly and I couldn't do anything but obey.

We walked through "my Olympus", as everyone like to call it, in complete silence. Just cherishing each other's embrace. It had always been enough to calm both of us down. We strolled along the courtyard to the gardens and everywhere you'd look, you'd find sculptures I, myself, had chosen, designed and specifically placed where I wanted. In the courtyard, one would find the statues of all twelve Olympians plus the ones of Hades and Nyx. Right in front of the doors to the throne room, were the ones of Zeus and Hera, with the rest of them being in around in a circular pattern as the courtyard, forming a perfect circle to show the unity of all elements. Thunder, Marriage, Water, Death, Night, Wisdom, Nature and Fertility, Celebration and Ecstasy, Light and Music, War and Violence, Love and Beauty, Fire and Forge and last Commerce. All united in a way that the world would be balanced. At least that was before Liam's Prophecy was heard. Now Zeus and Hera were the ones against him, while the rest were on his side.

Next were the gardens. In the entrance were the statues of Demeter and Persephone on each side with the rest of the Gods' being around the gardens. There wasn't a single God, minor or not, that wasn't his or her statue wasn't in the gardens. But there was one more that I never designed. The only golden one on this Olympus: Hyperion's. The golden statue that held him captive after Percy shot the hand of Midas his way so many years ago. The day I almost lost Percy. How different my life would have been if I hadn't forced Apollo to heal him... That thought made me reach out and ran my fingers over Hyperion's extended hand.

"What are you thinking about, Annabeth?" Percy asked letting me step away from his arms.

"That day..." I trailed off.

"It's done and over with." He said rubbing my back.

"I know, but just the thought that I could have lost you..." I trailed off again. "If just the thought makes my eyes water, I don't even want to imagine what it'll be for John."

"Like I said before, she'll get through it and wake up. Show her some faith like you had done with me those few days." He said turning my chin so I could look at him.

"I'm freaking out again, aren't I?" I asked and he chuckled. What he could find funny in this situation was beyond me, but we're talking about Percy here...

"You are. Wanna go back now?" He asked offering me his hand.

"Have I ever mentioned that I love you Seaweed Brain?" I asked hugging him close, but also looking up at him.

"You may have mentioned it a few thousand times. But repetition is the mother of all learning, right? Or at least that's what your mother says." He said and I couldn't help but laugh a little. He always knew how to cheer me up.

"I love you, Percy." I said and kissed him.

"I love you too, Annabeth." He muttered against my lips. A couple of minutes later, we returned to the courtyard only to find every God there apart from Poseidon, who was probably with his daughter, and Zeus and Ares, who were probably resting.

"How is she?" I asked everyone and no one at the same time.

"No change." Artemis said looking down.

"UGH! I hate feeling so useless..." Apollo muttered.

"You're not useless. Both Ares and Amy are alive thanks to you. Now it's just all up to her to wake up." Percy comforted him.

"So what will happen now?" I asked again.

"None of you cares about the king of the Gods, do you?" Hera asked ignoring my question. We all turned to look at her with disgust.

"Not really..." We all said in unison as she huffed and walked back in.

"How about someone answers my question now?" I suggested.

* * *

**Melanie's POV**

After Liam collapsed from everything he'd been through, Cloud flew in the air and flying as fast as he could, he got us to the beach within minutes. During the few-minute ride, I explained to Cloud who I was and why I had offered to come back with them, but of course he couldn't answer back, so I didn't know what his connection to Liam was. Well, at least he didn't answer in a way I could understand since I wasn't related to Poseidon in any way. When we got there, I tried to wake Liam up, but he wouldn't budge. At first I freaked out, but when I reached for a pulse in his neck, I was relieved and sighed. I got off of the Pegasus still holding on to my boyfriend.

"Cloud, I don't know if you like the water or not, but can you please walk in there so I can get him off of you?" I asked and he nodded. We both walked forward and soon we were in the water. I pulled Liam down and Cloud quickly got out of the sea. I put Liam's head on my shoulder and let him soak in a little, before gently pushing some water on his face. He started moving, but I could tell he wasn't awake yet. I looked over at his leg and saw his wounds starting to close leaving only small scars behind. We must have been a long time in there 'cause...

"Push his head under the water." Alex said from the shore as I looked up startled.

"When did you get here?" I asked as I did what she told me looking back down to my boyfriend. Owen, Ben and Mike came in moving closer to us.

"With the hurry we were in, it only took us twenty minutes." Owen said taking my place and grabbing Liam by one of his shoulders.

"Why did I have to let his head get in too?" I asked hating that I didn't already know that.

"The water fuels his power and well-being. The more of his body it covers, the easier and quicker his healing is." Ben answered taking the other shoulder.

"Don't trouble yourself. You couldn't have known since you've never seen him hurt." Mike comforted me and helped me out as the others had already taken him out.

"Boys, take him to his room and we'll come." Abby ordered and the boys left as Alex replaced Mike's arms around me.

"How are you?" Amanda asked rubbing my arm.

"I'm fine. Just some scratches." I replied, even though I knew that wasn't what they meant.

"You know what we mean, Mel." Alex said.

"I don't know Alex. I don't know even if I wanted that baby, but just the fact that Liam and I didn't have a say in that baby's life... That's the worst thing. And... and the more I think about it, the more I want it." I kept ranting now crying as they all rubbed my back soothingly. But it wasn't their comfort I needed... It was Liam's.

"Alex..." Amanda said softly nudging her. "It's obvious she needs Liam. Let's get her to him." I couldn't be more grateful in that moment.

We walked towards the four lonely houses of the teachers of the camp in one of which Liam was now probably sleeping peacefully. It was really late so we found no one on our way there. Not a single demigod nor John, who of course we really didn't want to encounter because he would definitely ask about his wife and we had nothing to tell him apart from the fact that it was bad. Really bad. When we stepped out feet in the Jackson residency, we found the boys coming down the stairs.

"Did he wake up while you were bringing him here?" Abby asked going to Owen.

"He's awake even now. He was changing a little while ago." Ben answered as I pushed Alex into his arms. I knew that they needed each other's comfort as much as I needed Liam's.

"He may now be sleeping." Mike commented.

"Mind if I leave you, guys?" I asked pointing upstairs. In all honesty even if they minded I would go upstairs to the arms of my boyfriend.

"Not at all, Mel." Alex said shooing me upstairs.

"Thanks." I said and practically ran upstairs. When I opened the door to his room, his head shot up, but when he saw it was just me, his features softened and motioned me to go to his bed. I didn't need any other invitation and quickly got under the covers turning to snuggle to his chest.

"How are you feeling?" He asked rubbing my stomach where our baby would be growing if it wasn't for Zeus.

"I don't know." I said and started sobbing again.

"Hey, hey... look at me." He said and made me look up to him. "It wasn't your fault, but Zeus's."

"How did you...?" He cut me off with a gentle kiss.

"How did I know that you were blaming yourself?" He asked and I nodded. "I just happen to know you, Melanie Claire Carter."

"But..."

"No buts. It wasn't your fault." he said caressing my cheek lovingly. "What bothers you most, baby? That we lost the baby or that _he_ killed it?" I liked how he used the plural instead of saying that I lost our baby.

"I honestly don't know." I said and pressed my face to his chest. "How's your leg?"

"It's fine. The swim helped a lot. Now all I need is some rest." He said putting his head on my own. I turned around, moved as close to him as possible and brought his fingers right in front of my face kissing them one by one.

"Let's sleep then." I said when I was done.

"Sure?" He foolishly asked.

"I am. Good night." I said and kissed his hand again as he chuckled. Only four days had passed since we last were so laid off, but I had really missed this.

"Good night then, Mel." He said and pulled me closer to him if possible.

"Oh and..." I trailed off turning my head to him and brought his lips to mine. "... I love you." I said and turned back to the front.

"I love you too." He said and I could hear the smile in his words. I smiled in content even though nothing was actually over since we didn't know how Amy was, but I was in his arms...

**It's been a long time since we last wrote over 3,000 words for one chapter. Don't ask why, 'cause neither of us knows. Oh and this chapter was totally different when we were planning it a few days ago (just after finishing last chapter), but after a little request by **_TimeTraveler15_**, we decided to change it a little to a little more Percabeth as you might have noticed. Anyway, sorry for torturing you with Amy's situation (not really but anyway)... Hang on and you'll find out at some point... :P**

**Love ya, guys!**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	27. Amy, Zeus and the deed

**If you're sentimental like me, I suggest you get some tissues on your side. The second part of this chapter is quite intense, so you might tear up a little. I know I did both when Tony and I were discussing this and when I typed it. Anyway... on with the chapter.**

**Chapter 27: Amy, Zeus and the deed**

**Liam's POV**

I had her safely in my arms. After four eventful days, we were finally together. At last we could lay back and be with each other. Once Amy woke up, I could apologize for my stupidity and everything could go back to normal. But first I had to make something right and to do that I had to go somewhere I really didn't want to. Thoughts like those went had been going through my head, the thirty minutes I was awake gently running my fingers along Melanie's arm as she still slept peacefully. She was using my chest as her pillow and had one arm draped over my waist. Any attempt to move and she would wake up, so I just laid there enjoying her touch still thinking.

My thoughts turned to what Melanie and I lost in this war. Now it was all over, I could finally think of the baby we lost because Zeus thought it would pose a threat to him as it would make me choose Melanie over him. But he never thought that I would choose anyone over him. The only reason I saved both, before trying to kill him, was that I knew what the consequences of his death would be. But an innocent baby? A baby, I didn't even know I wanted until those words left Melanie's mouth: _"He killed our baby." _I love kids, but never thought I'd have one so early. Yet the thought of a little human that owed his or her existence to me and Melanie made me grin like a fool...

"What are you smiling about?" Melanie asked me yawning also nuzzling my neck with her nose.

"You..." I trailed off kissing her head. I didn't want to tell her what really got me smiling because she'd start feeling guilty again and that was the least I wanted right now. I wanted her to feel safe and loved after all we'd been through in the past four days.

"Good morning." She said and kissed me softly.

"For the first time in days, it is. How did you sleep?" I asked rubbing her back.

"So well I now feel guilty." She said confusing me.

"Didn't we already..." She silenced me with her fingers.

"I meant that I feel bad for sleeping in your arms so peacefully when Amy is still in a coma. Relax." She explained and released my mouth.

"Wanna go see her?" I suggested and she simply nodded getting up.

"Get dressed while I go borrow something from your sister." She instructed and kissed me before leaving. I didn't really care what I'd wear so I just chose a pair of black shorts with a red t-shirt. I had taken off the contacts yesterday while changing and because I was too bored to put them on again, I just took my glasses off their case and put them on. Getting out of my room, I saw her at my sister's door in a similar attire to mine. She skipped over to me and kissed me grabbing my hand.

"Come on. I need to see her." She said against my lips.

"As if I don't..." I said chuckling. There was nothing joyful about Amy's situation, but being with my girlfriend gave me hope and a sense of euphoria, but also brought a smile to my face despite everything.

We walked down the stairs and into the kitchen hand in hand, where we found in our surprise not only my sister and Ben as we expected, but my parents as well.

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" I asked and I was sure my surprise was evident on my face. "Why did you leave Amy?"

"We didn't leave her. We brought her here instead since there was nothing we could do on Olympus that couldn't be done here." My dad answered kissing my mother's cheek.

"Where is she then? We wanted to see her." Melanie said wrapping her arms around my waist. I was still frowning though, because I had one more reason I wanted to go to Olympus other than check up on Amy and Ares.

"She's in the infirmary. Why are you frowning, LJ?" Mom, who of course noticed, asked me.

"I just wanted to go to Olympus..." I trailed off.

"Champ, your uncle is fine. You have pushed your sword in his gut, but Apollo did a great job with him." My dad said.

"Thanks dad. That makes me feel so much better." I replied sarcastically as mom hit his arm and Alex giggled.

"What did I do?" He whispered to mom thinking we didn't hear him.

"Use that Seaweed Brain of yours and you'll know." She answered. I might as well tell them why I really wanted to go to Olympus.

"Well... To be honest, I still want to go there. I need to see _him_." I announced as Melanie went stiff in my arms, Ben chocked on his water and Alex with my parents gasped.

"Why do you want to see _him_?" Melanie asked through gritted teeth.

"I want him to do something for me." I said, but I was sure that at least my mother wouldn't let it go that easily.

"And what do you want Zeus to do for you?" At the mention of his name, both me and Melanie stiffened.

"Except rot in hell of course." Alex clarified.

"I'm not telling you until he's done me that favor." I said in determination. "Mel, maybe you should stay here, but I really need to go."

"No. I'm coming." She said.

"Sure?" I asked trying to get her to look at me.

"I'm never leaving your side again." She said gripping my waist tighter. "But shouldn't we go see Amy first?" She asked and as I was about to answer, Ben interfered.

"I don't think you should. Owen and Abby just went to tell John about Amy. So he'll probably go to her soon. You wouldn't want to bother them, would you?" he asked looking solely at me as my face fell.

"No, we wouldn't." Melanie said rubbing my chest.

"Are you sure you'll be okay when you see him?" Mom asked getting closer to us.

"We'll somehow be, Annabeth." Mel answered and I nodded.

"Let them do their thing, Wise Girl. LJ, bike or car?" My dad asked going for the board we held the keys.

"Actually... I was thinking we could go with Cloud. I never managed to talk to him with everything that's happened. So..." I trailed off look at Melanie.

"Anything you want. Just don't expect me to understand anything between you two. Or that I talk to _him._" She said shivering.

* * *

**John's POV**

She had been gone way too long. When Cloud came all of a sudden, I didn't even realize how fast she got on his back and flew away leaving me alone with David and the rest of the younger demigods. Even though I had absolutely no problem being responsible of all the demigods at camp, I had been uneasy since she left. I had that bad feeling the entire time and it seemed I wasn't the only one as David wouldn't stop crying from the moment his mother left up until he fell asleep.

Unlike my son, I couldn't sleep. Knowing that my wife was somewhere around monsters, Hecatonchires, primordial Gods and I don't know what else kept me up all night. I stayed laid on our bed in the big house the greatest part of the night looking at the ceiling. I often turned to the nightstand to check the time, but at some point, I needed my son's comfort so I got up, took him from his crib and went back to bed placing him on top of my chest hoping my warmth and heartbeat would provide him the same comfort his gave to me.

He woke up a few minutes ago though, and I had to change and feed him. When I was done with the first, I started feeding him, but a few minutes into that, there was a knock on the door. Now, under any other circumstances, like Amy being here, I would have understood the knock, but since she wasn't, it just confused me.

"Come in." I said with David in my arms.

"Hey uncle John." I heard Owen say before I saw him and Abby. The battle must have been over.

"You're back!" I exclaimed and ran in their arms with the baby in arms and a bottle of milk in hand. "Where's Amy?" I asked but they stayed silent and Owen even started rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I asked you a question. Where. Is. My. Wife?" I asked stopping at every word, but still no answer. "Please don't tell me she's dead." I pleaded and instantly felt like a great weight was placed on my shoulders.

"No! She's not dead, John." Abby said and relief came over me. "But..."

"There's a but...?" I asked mentally preparing myself for what was to come.

"There's no easy way to say this, so..." Owen trailed off looking at Abby, who huffed and turned to me.

"Amy was badly injured." this really wasn't a good start. "Although Apollo was able to heal her wound, she fell into a coma way before e got the chance to heal her. It's all up to her to wake up. Our parents brought her back a few minutes ago and she's now in the infirmary." She finished and I couldn't believe my ears. How I didn't drop David was a miracle.

"I need to go to her." I muttered not even thinking. All I needed to do was get to my wife. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

"Give him to me and go." Abby suggested putting her arms under mine, but I held on David tighter. He needed to see his mother too. "John, let us take care of him while you go to Amy."

"But David need his mom." I muttered. All coherent thought had left my mind.

"And his mom needs you. Just let us take David, uncle." Owen said patting my shoulder. My arms gradually lowered until David was found in Abby's arms. "Go to her."

I didn't need any further suggestions. I was out of the house in an instant running towards the infirmary. The younger demigods were just waking up so I didn't find anyone on my way there and if I did, I never noticed them. Crying, I reached my destination and got in to find Amy laying on a bed with Poseidon by her side and Apollo sitting in a chair on the other side of the room. The two looked up, both with tears in their eyes like me, got up and walked towards the exit. When they reached me, they both patted my back and told me how it happened. In that moment, I couldn't help but feel some "hate" towards Liam, but deep down I knew it wasn't his fault. Poseidon stopped for a second.

"We'll give you some privacy son. Maybe you'll be able to wake her up." My father-in-law said and I took his position next to Amy never averting my eyes from her. Wiping away my tears I reached up and kissed her forehead staying there. Close to her.

"Good morning, sweetheart." I said trying to keep my voice even. "They just told me what happened. Why do you have to be so stubborn, Amy? Liam would be fine and you know it." I continued rubbing her forehead softly. "Baby, you can't do this to them. Please wake up. Liam's guilt will be insufferable and David... David needs you." I said and started crying again, but she wouldn't budge. "Don't let him go through what you did... Don't let him grow up without his mother. His aunts and uncles are great, but he needs you, Amy... He..." I was such an emotional wreck that my feet couldn't support me so I plopped down on the chair holding her hand in mine. "I love you... And I need you more than anything. Don't do this to me, Amy Wright." I said and banged my forehead against the mattress. I have no idea how long I was sitting there. People came and went, but I never noticed who they were. I just kept my head against the mattress and her hand in mine playing with her wedding ring.

"John..." The voice of my angel whispered.

"Amy..?" I asked looking up. She had her eyes closed and wasn't moving. My hopes crashed as I waited for her to respond. I had just imagined it. But then her lips moved again.

"Where's Liam?" She asked and I was sure I was dreaming this time.

"I don't know, but he's fine. And you... You're awake..." I trailed off crying again as Apollo walked in the room and stood on the other side of her bed.

"Amy, look at me." He said and she opened her eyes. Her eyes. That amazing sea-green I hadn't seen for a little under a day.

"I'm fine couz. How's Liam?" She asked. Of course she'd worry about her nephew first.

"He's fine. He sealed Tartarus and sent everyone back in that pit. Let us check up on you now." Apollo said and continued with whatever examination he was doing. MY WIFE WAS ALIVE AND AWAKE!

* * *

**Liam's POV**

"Wait here, Cloud. We won't take long." I said and he nodded as Melanie and I got off his back. We walked towards the courtyard hand in hand in silence. We reached the gates to the throne room and with a push we were inside. Apollo and my grandfather were missing but everyone else was there. Ares was sitting in his throne and gave me a thumbs-up letting me know he was okay. And of course, Zeus couldn't not be there as well. Sitting on his throne still bloody and all with Hera by his side.

"Liam..." He said when he saw me. "I'm..."

"Don't you dare say you're sorry!" Everyone in the room except for him and Hera.

"I don't care what you want or have to say, but you're gonna do something for me." I announced.

"Would it make you feel any more positive towards me?" He asked pleading with his eyes.

"Never ever, will I feel positive towards you, asshole." I said with venom in my tone.

"What is it that you want?" he asked sighing.

"You to forgive the "sins" of Ixion and Sisyphus. Release them from their torment and let them go to the Underworld like every other innocent soul." I announced and him and Hera gasped.

"Never." They said.

"I wasn't asking. You will do it whether you like it or not." I said seriously.

"Or what? You'll kill me?" He asked.

"Don't tempt me murderer. You owe your life to Nyx and Amy." I said trying to control my temper. I would have been unsuccessful, hadn't it been for Melanie kissing me lightly to calm me down. "Do it. NOW!" I ordered. I saw him contemplate on it for a few minutes. There was nothing that could be heard in that room. Only the steady breathing of all present.

"They helped in winning this war, so I will do as you ask great male. I, Zeus, the king of the Gods, forgive the sins of Tartarus's inmates, Ixion and Sisyphus, and let them pass on the other side where all innocent souls rest for the rest of forever." He said.

"See you later fucker... or not." I said and stepped out of the room. I had done my deed and could now go to my aunt.

**Tell us what you think... :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	28. All's fair in war and love

**Now... in a review for the previous chapter, **_Louisville-Guitarist_ **pointed out that the ending was a little rushed. To be honest, the silence that occurred right after Liam's demand was supposed to be a long one where Zeus would think about it, but it was our fault for not making clear. The same reader (and thank you for that by the way) also pointed out that Zeus would never ever forgive those two and all and he also would never apologize. Like we said in the reply, both Zeus's try to apologize and that he actually did as Liam requested was to show that even the Gods have a more "humane" side. After being around their kids and communicating with them, it made them all a little soft if you want and that's what we wanted to show. Sorry if it didn't come across that way. And also thank you for pointing these things out, so we can explain not only to you, but everyone else as well. Don't know how many of you thought of all that above, but we wanted to clear these things out. **

**After this long introduction, I'll just type the chapter. :)**

**Chapter 28: All's fair in war and love**

**Liam's POV**

Once we were out of the throne room, Melanie took my hand in hers as we walked back to Cloud. At first I started playing with her fingers, but at some point, I felt like being playful, so I lifted her up and threw her over my shoulder always walking towards Cloud.

"You're so childish sometimes." She said, but didn't make any move to stop me or make me put her down. She just let me have my own way until I finally let her down grabbing onto her hand once again.

"Part of my charm. Now, do you want to properly meet my Pegasus?" I asked bringing our intertwined hand behind my neck and brought them apart so that only hers alone stayed there.

"Sure..." She said and grabbed onto some of my hair. "...But you'll have to translate." She continued bringing her other hand up to mimic the one resting on the back of my scalp.

"Why? He can understand you perfectly." I said and leaned down a bit, but not entirely reaching her mouth. I gave her that chance.

"You know what I mean goof." She said and instead of reaching up to kiss me, she pulled my head down crashing my lips to hers. It may only have been a few days since we last kissed that way, but we both had missed it and it showed in the way our lips moved against each other. But before it got too heated, Cloud nudged us.

"_Not in public, guys." _He thought and I chuckled with my lips still attached to Melanie's. He nudged us again, a little bit harder this time causing us to break apart, but rest our foreheads against each other's.

"What's he saying?" She asked looking into my eyes. The love and adoration hers held surprised me, but I was sure mine were mirroring hers.

"That we shouldn't do that in public." I said as she instantly dropped her hands from my neck and turned to face Cloud.

"Then you should get us back at camp quickly." She said pushing back against me making my breath catch up in my throat and Cloud took a step back startled.

"_I like her..." _Cloud said nodding retaking that step but this time forward. _"Of course, I'll take you back as fast as possible." _He thought again taking a bow. _"Please translate smart-ass." _

"What's he saying?" Melanie asked again and stroked his mane giggling.

"That he likes you and I believe his words were: Of course he'll take us back as fast as possible." I answered wrapping my arms around her waist tight. "But we have to go to Amy first, don't we?"

"We do..." She trailed off and evidently didn't like that idea so much after all. "So what's your story?" She asked pointing between me and Cloud.

"_Just get on and you can tell her on the way. I'm not able to do so after all, so I might as well shut up." _He said giving me "permission" to tell my own girlfriend about me and him. He turned to the side and let us get on his back. When I had a good grip on her waist and was sure she was steady, I began telling our story after also saying to Cloud to take it slow since we'd have to go to Amy first.

"Well, I don't know what they've told you already, but..." I began but...

"Nobody has said anything." She cut me off.

"Okay. It all played out on my fifth and mom's 28th birthday in Olympus. A private party held by the Gods. Everyone apart from the usual two. It wasn't anything much since they know mom, so it was just them, us and our friends. At some point Abby, Owen and I while playing around, we went in the Gardens. It was just us 'cause, you see, Ben, Alex, Amanda and Mike were already asleep since they were too young or whatever." I said chuckling.

"Parents..." She said giggling and shaking her head.

"Yeah. Well, as I was saying, we went in the Gardens and started running around until we stumbled upon this little fella. He was a newborn Pegasus and it was obvious. At least to me. The other two wouldn't go anywhere near him because they were afraid, but I wasn't. My grandfather came looking for us sometime later and found me fooling around with Cloud. I had already given him his name, so upon seeing how close him and I were, my granddad decided to give him to me as an additional, unexpected birthday present." She decided to cut me off again.

"Additional?" She asked confused.

"Yes. My actual birthday present that day from my grandparents was my sword. My shield was also given to me by my uncle that day. But the point is that ever since that day and up until I left for college, Cloud and I have been inseparable." I finished the story patting Cloud's mane again.

"_We've been through quite a lot, haven't we?" _He asked trying to look back.

"We have. I never thanked you for saving me, did I?" I asked.

"_You didn't, but I'm sure you'd do the same for me, smart-ass." _He answered and kind of chuckled.

"I would. In fact I already have. Remember that time with the Empusa in the Central Park?" I asked as Melanie kissed my cheek.

"_I remember. She had scared the crap out of me." _He said shivering at the memory. In that moment, we reached camp and Cloud landed right in front of the infirmary. Melanie and I got off and he flew away, probably to the lake to drink some water.

"So you two are close...?" She questioned.

"Yap. We're really close." I answered.

"But I've been closer to you..." She said and let her finger graze my crotch before walking away to the infirmary. I stood there for a few seconds taking deep breaths to compose myself before following after her. Inside, I found my parents, aunts, uncles and friends all smiling.

"She's awake..." It was meant to be a question, but it came out as a statement.

"She is, LJ." My mother said as dad held her close.

"Can I...?" I couldn't find the words to finished my own sentence. My eyes were filled with tears, some of which managed to escape.

"Yes, you can. She's been asking for you ever since she woke up, Liam." My grandfather said smiling as a tear ran down his cheek.

"Come on, baby..." Melanie said grabbing onto my hand excitedly and I could see how her eyes were filled with threatening tears like mine. I let her drag me into the room where my aunt was sitting up in the only bed around, playing with David who was smiling and giggling at his mother's tickling touches. When we stepped into the room, John and Amy looked up and seeing it was us, Amy smiled while John's face darkened. I couldn't blame him for hating me. I may be Amy's nephew and all, but I had almost taken away the life of the woman he loved, married and was the mother of his child.

"Don't just stand there. Come here." Amy said motioning us forward. Melanie left my hand fall to my side and ran in my aunt's arms, also careful not to hurt her nor David. On the other hand, I stayed still. I couldn't move from my spot. John's death glare kept me at place.

"What are YOU doing here?" he asked never averting his eye from me.

"John!" Amy said with Melanie still in her arms. "How many times do I have to tell you it wasn't Liam's fault?"

"It was, Amy." I said looking down.

"Annabeth..." My aunt called for mom and she appeared in the room standing next to me in a second.

"Yes, Amy?" She asked rubbing my shoulders.

"Could you take David out of here for a few minutes?" Amy asked and my mom immediately went for him.

"Sure. Just tell me when you want him back." She said and kissed my cheek before leaving with my cousin in her arms.

"Now.." She trailed off turning her gaze back to us.

"See? He agrees with me." Her husband said glaring harder.

"Johnathan Wright and Liam Kai Jackson, my injury was MY FAULT! If I hadn't been too stubborn and overprotective to go help Liam when I knew he'd be fine, none of that would happen. Stop this right this instant!" She yelled at us and we both cowered back in fear. She was scary...

"But..." We both said looking at her.

"No freaking buts. I'll deal with you later." She said to John and turned to Melanie, who was still in her arms. I never knew they were so close. "Mel, mind taking my husband outside so I can talk to my nephew?"

"Sure..." My girlfriend said getting up. "Come on John." She said over her shoulder going for the exit.

"Sweetie, it wasn't a suggestion. GO!" Amy ordered her husband with her eyebrows raised. He huffed and walked out after Melanie. "Now, you. Get your butt here right now." She told me patting a space on her bed and I couldn't help but obey.

"Amy, I'm so sorry. I never wanted to..." I apologized but she cut me off.

"I know you never wanted to hurt me, Liam, and it's not your fault I got injured. With how dark it was in there, you couldn't have know where Erebus and I were standing since he didn't move us an inch. You also couldn't have known where the sword would end up, so stop beating yourself about it. Tartarus and Erebus weren't being fair, but then again, we were in the middle of a war and you now that all's fair in a war. Now, I can understand your guilt about hurting Ares, but with me you couldn't have known." She said all the time caressing my cheek. "Can you please let it go?"

"Are you okay?" I asked looking down.

"I'm fine. Apollo healed all my wounds while I was still in a coma. But now I'm up and there is nothing wrong with me." She answered.

"You still think I'm not at fault?" I asked looking up a little.

"I still do." She answered.

"It won't be easy to let the fact that I almost killed my aunt go..." I trailed off.

"You didn't though, and I'm sure Melanie will help with getting over it." She said winking. "Just go, LJ. Spend some time with your girlfriend. Just be careful this time." She said giggling.

"I can't believe you're enjoying this." I said shaking my head.

"Hey! It's not my fault you got her pregnant, is it?" she asked.

"What if I don't think of it as a fault?" I asked too low not wanting her to hear it, but she did.

"It was intentional?" She asked as her eyes went wide.

"No, it wasn't. We were always careful." I said sticking my tongue out at her like a five-year-old.

"Then how come she was pregnant, smart-ass?" She asked. She was the only person that would make me talk about that pregnancy without feeling so bad about the outcome and Zeus's actions. We've always talked about everything, good or bad, and I never felt depressed about anything wrong. She had a way to make everything seem so simple and trivial. This wasn't any different.

"I don't know..." I trailed off. I hadn't really thought about it with everything that had happened until that moment.

"Okay, how about you get out of here now, so I can have my men come in again?" She suggested batting her eyelashes at me.

"It could have worked without the eye-thing, you know." I said getting up.

"I know, but felt like doing it anyway." She said smiling. "Go, you goof." She said and I moved to the door. "Oh and tell John to bring David and his ass over her right now. I have a few words to tell him." I chuckled as I walked out of the room only to find John glaring at me with my cousin in his arms and the rest of them smiling at me.

"She wants to talk to you." I told him and he went inside without looking at me for longer than a split second. Mom then ran into my arms.

"How are you, LJ?" She asked checking up on me.

"I'm fine mom. After the swim I was fine. Not a scratch." I said taking a spin around myself to show her I was telling the truth. "Now would you mind if Melanie and I left?" I asked extending my hand for Melanie to grab on and she did.

"Where to?" Mom asked stepping back and letting Melanie replace her in my arms.

"Let the kids do as they please Wise girl. They're not five anymore." My dad said and winked at me. I mouthed a _"thanks" _before walking out of there. We inertwined our fingers and started walking. Our destination unknown.

"Where do you wanna go?" She asked me playing with our fingers.

"It doesn't matter. I just wanna be with you." I said and fully meant it.

"How about we go to my room?" She suggested.

"Aren't your siblings supposed to be at the cabin? Don't you think they'll bother us?" I asked confused and stopped us.

"If you checked the time, you'd see that they're probably at the pavilion. It's lunch time." She said reaching up to wrap her arms around my neck and pulled me down like she had done on Olympus. This time it wasn't as heated, but we were still interrupted.

"I suggest you take that to a bedroom." Aphrodite yelled from the door to the infirmary. Melanie pulled back and started rubbing my scalp.

"How about we listen to the Gods this time?" She said as I stole another kiss.

"When have we never?" I asked rubbing my nose against her own.

"Right..." She trailed off and pulled back turning invisible.

"That's unfair! I want to be able to see you!" I yelled in the air and pouted.

"All's fair in war and love, baby." She said and ran towards Nyx's cabin. How did I know? She left a trail of sand behind her.

**Not a good title for the chapter, but we couldn't think of anything better. Hope you liked it :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	29. Private time & Outing

**Not much to say since I'm in a hurry, so enjoy! :)**

**Chapter 29: Private time and outing**

**Liam's POV**

I stayed still for a few short moments just smiling before walked after Melanie to her cabin. On my way there I found some of the younger demigods heading to the pavilion, so I had to stop and let them talk to me, congratulate me or whatever. Once I was done with the social stuff, I excused myself and continued with my previously interrupted journey. It's end came just a few minutes later when I moved past the doors to Nyx's cabin and was attacked by none other than Melanie Claire Carter scaring me to death.

"Boo!" She whispered in my ear having climbed on my back.

"Like I needed the "boo" to be scared to death." I said catching my breath.

"If I said I'm sorry, would you believe me?" She asked kissing my neck.

"Nope. Not really." I said and managed to get her in the front of me while her legs wrapped themselves around my waist.

"And why is that?" She asked also locking her hands behind my neck.

"Hmm... let's see..." I trailed off placing my hands on her hips to keep her steady. "Maybe because I know how much you love to sneak up on people."

"But you're not _people._ You're my Liam." She said pouting.

"That I may be, but you still love to sneak up on me. You're a daughter of Nyx after all." I said leaning in to kiss her.

"Well, this daughter of Nyx also has a room around here. Can you find it?" She asked against my lips.

"I'm sure I could do that." I said and went to pull back in order to walk towards her room, but she held my head at place.

"I meant without taking your lips off mine." She said and continued her assault on my mouth while also grinding against me. Thankfully, I knew that cabin like the back of my hand so finding her room would be easy. Unfortunately though, walking there with her attacking my mouth and neck while also moving against me was _so _not easy. However, despite all difficulties, groans and stumbles against every piece of furniture, I managed to get in her room and lock the door behind us. She unwrapped her legs from around me and I set her down gently keeping my lips on hers and my hands on her waist, as hers unlocked from behind my neck and trailed downwards to the him of my t-shirt slipping inside. She ran her hands over every little piece of skin on my torso before pulling back both her hands and mouth taking a step back as I whimpered at the loss of contact.

"Why did you pull away?" I asked a little surprised and hurt. She didn't answer. She just walked forward again and put her hands on my cheeks.

"You don't want your glasses broken like last time, do you?" She asked and kissed me softly before removing my glasses and heading for the nightstand where she placed them.

"Right..." I trailed off and came up behind her wrapping my arms around her waist as she was slightly bent over and pulled her to me. I pushed her hair to the side with my nose and started placing kisses all over the skin of her neck. I felt her hands cupping mine before I slowly removed her borrowed t-shirt. Then I guided our hands to the shorts she was wearing pushing them down swiftly and she started rubbing herself against me turning me on even more, but it was also my turn to tease her a bit. As our intertwined hands were about to go upwards, one of mine left hers and rubbed once or twice on her soaking center through the fabric, before joining hers again to her chest and eventually the straps of her bra pulling them down one at a time. All that time my mouth had been attached to her neck marking her as mine as she done with me minutes prior to this and when I tried to move it to the clasp of that annoying material, she turned around and looked at me with lust, love and adoration in her eyes.

"How do you always manage to get me naked before you get any of your clothes off?" She asked giggling.

"You did remove my glasses this time AND you're not naked... yet." I answered and her giggle turned to a laugh.

"Your glasses don't count as clothing, goof." She said and came back in my arms. "AND you're so getting naked before me this time." She whispered in my ear and dipped both of her hands in my shorts and in my boxers making my breath catch up in my throat again. She kept only her thumbs out and started lowering her whole body down along with my shorts and boxers.

"Fuck..." I trailed off as she slowly ran her fingers along my throbbing dick.

"I see my little teasing was quite effective..." She said taking a grip of it as I groaned. She pumped me a few times before taking a long lick from the base to the head, to which she gave a little suck, and got up never taking her hand off of me. With her other hand she grabbed the hem of my t-shirt and I helped her bring it over my head before she pulled me down by the neck, so she could whisper in my ear again. "Told you, I'd get you naked before you got me this time." She said and licked my earlobe.

I couldn't take it any longer and I made her hand leave my aching dick before turning her around. She giggled and pressed her entire body on my own and turned her head to the side so she could kiss me. My hands went to her underwear tugging them down a bit, before my mouth left hers in search of the clasp in her bra. Once I unclasped it, it fell of easily, so I also removed the last piece of cloth on her. Once that was done, she bent slightly again and wiggled her ass a bit making me groan at the sight. I pushed into her groaning some more as she moaned and brought my upper body down to hers because I needed to feel her close to me. It wasn't long before she started pushing back against me as I thrust forward. Completely in sync, we kept on. My hands had retreated from her breasts to her hips as I straightened up.

"Oh fuck... Liam... stop." She said in between moans and pushing back. I couldn't do anything other than stop.

"What's wrong?" I asked rubbing her back and pulled out.

"Nothing..." She said and turned around pushing me back. I landed on her bed and seconds later she was sitting on me. "Nothing's wrong. My legs just couldn't hold me any longer." She whispered in my ear before attaching her lips to my neck. As she kept sucking on my skin earning numerous groans, I lifted her up and brought her down on my dick making her moan against my skin which in turn made me groan and say her name more than once.

She kept bouncing on me and I made sure to thrust up in the right time, so we kept a nice rhythm like before. Her mouth went lower to my chest where she licked up until she reached my lips and kissed me hungrily It wasn't long before she came and then let me have my way with her. As she stayed still in result of her orgasm, I started thrusting into her faster and harder falling off the edge a little later. It was my turn to stay still as a post-orgasmic effect, so she got off me and brought the covers over me before snuggling close to me as I tried to recuperate.

"Still seeing white?" She asked after some time caressing my cheek.

"Nope.." I trailed off. "Just enjoying your touch. "I said and turned to kiss her hand. "And wondering what I've ever done to deserve you."

"You're such a sucker for romance." She said slapping my chest playfully.

"I've been told once or twice." I said chuckling. "But you know I mean everything I say, right?" I asked concerned.

"I know, don't worry." She said and reached up to kiss me.

"What do you wanna do today?" I asked lazily running my fingers along her arm.

"Stay here?" She said but it sounded like a question. I knew there was something into it so I pushed her.

"Don't you want to go in town maybe? For a movie and dinner or something? And a walk in the beach later maybe?" I suggested.

"You make it sound nice." She said rubbing my chest.

"Want me to make it irresistible?" I asked and she nodded against my skin.

"Stay the whole day away from parents, friends, Gods and demigods. Just us. And we could spend the night on the beach watching the stars like we did before everything." I said and she huffed.

"That's so hard to resist." She said and lifted herself up supporting herself on her elbow. "But don't you think we should stay in case Amy needs us or anything?" She asked.

"Amy reassured me that she's fine. She'll spend most of her time with her men after all. Please...?" I pleaded pouting.

"Fine. But stop looking at me with that face." She said as someone knocked on the door. "Who is it?"

"Mel? It's Linda." The same daughter of Nyx that had opened the cabin door to me on Melanie's birthday said.

"Um... Linda, now is really not the time." My girlfriend said.

"Yeah, well... Mom wants to talk to you and Liam." She insisted.

"Mom?" Melanie wondered aloud scrunching her face.

"Tell your mother that we'll be right there." I said and heard Linda move away from the door.

"We can't go out now. Not like this. We're screaming sex, Liam." Melanie said.

"Well, you mother will have to excuse us for our appearance but she's the one who wants to talk to us now. Just change while I wear my clothes and let's go see what she wants." I suggested getting up and putting on my boxers followed by the rest of my clothes as Melanie watched with a shitty grin on her face. "Are you checking me out Ms Carter?" I asked chuckling.

"I'm just admiring what's mine." She said shrugging. Once I was ready, I went to sit on her bed and as I got my glasses from her nightstand, she wrapped her arms around me resting her chin on my shoulder. "Do we really have to go talk to mom?"

"Yeah. Get dressed missy." I said and she huffed before getting up and going for her clothes that were scattered along the floor. I waited patiently for her to change not making the mistake of looking at her much, because if I did, we'd never leave that room.

"I'm ready, so you can look now." She said brushing her hair so that she could somewhat hide that we had just had sex. At least hide it from the younger demigods. We couldn't do much with the older ones or the Gods. "Shall we?" She asked standing by the door. I walked over to her and she straightened my glasses before opening the her door. We walked downstairs hand in hand and found Nyx with some of her kids in the large living room. When we came into view, Nyx looked up and smiled.

"Well, boys and girls, would you mind if I went to talk to these two?" she asked her kids that were sitting around her. They whined a bit before they let her go and all three of us went outside.

"What was so important you had to talk to us now mom?" Melanie asked once we had stopped walking.

"I just wanted to see you two and make sure you're alright." She said and we both huffed as Nyx giggled. "And I didn't say that I needed to talk to you right away. Just that I want to talk to you."

"Seriously mom?" Melanie asked huffing again.

"Seriously Melanie. Now, how are you two?" She asked calmly.

"We're fine as you can see, my lady." I answered for us.

"So we're back to "my lady" now, Liam? I thought you would have realized by now that calling me by my name wouldn't bother me." She said shaking her head as I shrugged. "Anyway... I wasn't referring to your health, but your minds. You went through a great loss after all." She said and our faces fell. We had yet to talk about her miscarriage properly. Just cleared out that it wasn't her fault.

"We'll be fine. It's still too soon." Melanie said bringing her body closer to mine probably looking for some comfort.

"I know it's too soon. But have you talked about the little life that was so unfairly lost?" Why did she have to press on this matter? "Because only talking about it will make it better. Was the pregnancy intentional?" She asked giving us no other choice but to answer. Melanie was the one to do so.

"No mom, it wasn't intentional." She said calmly.

"Would you have kept it? She asked.

"OF COURSE!" We both yelled. What did she think?

"So you want a baby?" She questioned and Melanie had enough.

"Yes, mom, we do. We wouldn't pursuit for now, because our relationship is still at its early stages and we're young, but if it came early like it did, we'd both be really happy about it! No can you please stop scratching that fucking wound? It's still fresh!" She yelled as I tried my best to calm her down. "We just got done with Liam's Prophecy and the war and right when we want to spend some time with each other you come and talk to us about our baby that died because of that fucking king of the Gods!" She turned in my arms and buried her face in my chest crying.

"Shh... Mel, calm down." I whispered over and over again in her ear. Nyx, who couldn't see her daughter like this also knowing that she had caused Melanie's breakdown, muttered an "I'm sorry...", before leaving with tears in her own eyes. I lifted Melanie up bridal style letting her cry and headed back to her room laying down on her bed with her on top of me. She was still crying and I let, since I knew that she needed to let everything out through tears for the loss of our baby. Like I had done while thinking about it in the beginning of this day. I just stayed there rubbing her back until she finished. My shirt was wet from her tears, but I couldn't care in the least. When she looked up from my chest, I smiled and brought my hand to her cheek caressing it softly, before she kissed me.

"How about we go on that outing we were talking about? Just get away from everything?" I suggested continuously caressing her cheek.

"There's nothing I want more than being away from everything." She agreed nodding.

"Take a shower and meet me at my house?" I asked and she nodded again tightening her grip around my neck this time. "Melanie, you need to let me go, so I can go take a shower as well." I said chuckling.

"I don't wanna." She said childishly.

"Baby, how can we go out if we don't shower?" I asked and her grip loosened. "You also have to get off of me..." I continued and she got up pouting. Following her example, I got up and went to her kissing her lightly. "See you in a few minutes.

I ran back to my house, took my shower, shaved, wore my comfy jeans and a white shirt and went straight to the garage to get the car out, so we could leave the moment she came without any delays. I waited for ten minutes, before she came into view wearing a dark blue skirt and a white V-neck nicely showing the pendant I gave her for her birthday. Of course my eyes were glued to her breasts or her legs and she seemed to notice that because she blushed and tried to cover that amazing sight. She got in the car and kissed me rubbing my freshly shaved chin and straightened my glasses.

"I'm glad you didn't wear you contacts. Your glasses suit you better." She said when she pulled away.

"Thanks. You look gorgeous, Mel." I said smiling sweetly.

"I was sure you'd like it." She said blushing.

"I always like you. This time, I just appreciate what I rarely have the pleasure of seeing." I said and rubbed her knew never going neither lower nor higher than that.

"How about we move on before anyone else decides to make an appearance today?" She suggested after taking a deep breath. I didn't answer. Instead, I drove out of camp with the city as my destination. It wouldn't be our first time together in town, but it was the first which we had nothing to worry about. No prophecies, wars or drama. This time we could be carefree and enjoy our night as we wanted.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked as we reached town.

"What time is it?" She asked back.

"It's... 9:20." I replied after checking my phone.

"How about we skip the movie and go to that restaurant at the beach?" She suggested.

"Sure." I said smiling and knowing our destination I drove faster. "We can go sit on the sand as long as we want afterward.." We arrived at the appointed restaurant a few minutes later. It was more of a family diner than a restaurant, which meant that few knew about it and there was no need to make any reservations. Another good thing was that having eaten there so many times, I knew the people working there and knew they'd take care of us. I took up a space in the parking lot before getting out and going for her door. She smiled and took my extended hand also getting out of the car. She straightened her skirt before grabbing my hand again and we walked inside. Lucas, a middle-aged kind man who was the host, looked up from his podium and quickly approached us.

"Mr Jackson, Ms Carter, how nice of you to be here. My dear Melanie, beautiful as always." He said taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

"It's good to be here, Lucas." We both said smiling.

"Where would you like to sit this beautiful night? And since it's a slow night, we'll practically be at your disposal." He said and true enough only a family or two were around.

"How about outside, LJ?" Melanie suggested with a glint in her eyes that of course I couldn't say no to. Not that I would.

"Anything for my girl." I said grinning like a fool.

"This way please..." Lucas trailed off and led us outside to the balcony at a table with direct view to the ocean just the way we liked it. "Your waiter will be with you shortly. Don't blame him if he's a little slow. He's new around here." Lucas added with an apologetic look on his face.

"Don't worry. We'll behave." Melanie said giggling as Lucas left. She then turned towards the sea and looked at the night sky thinking until she spoke again. "Do you think I was a little harsh on her?"

"You were a little, but she pushed us a little too hard with _that matter_. Besides... didn't we say we'd come here to get away from everything?" I asked taking both of her hands in mine.

"You're right. Once again." She said and I kissed the back of her hands looking lovingly into her eyes.

"Melanie Carter? How did you end up here?" Someone said from behind me. Melanie looked up and gasped.

"Enrique?" She breathed bringing her hand to her mouth. Who the fuck is Enrique?

**New character... Don't know for how long he'll stay, but we'll see. **

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	30. Enrique Moreno

**Sorry for the late post, but with friends coming over for a few days, a brother freaking out immensely and some other family drama (in a really bad way drama), it was hard to finish this up. It was halfway done two days after the last post, but then everything went downhill. So once again, sorry for making whoever is reading this wait for so long (in our standards long). Here is the chapter:**

**Chapter 30: Enrique Moreno**

**Liam's POV**

"Aren't you going to greet me, Mel?" This 'Enrique' dude asked and when I turned around I saw him with his arms open wide ready to embrace her. The dude seem was a little shorter than me by at least a head, skinny with no trace of muscle in his body, his body tanned, his accent weird. It had some Hispanic trace in it, but I couldn't entirely place it AND he was obviously just a mere human, so how did he know Melanie. But most importantly, why the fuck did he call her 'Mel'?

"Oh my Gods..." She trailed off, got up and ran in his arms while I sat in my seat gritting my teeth with my mouth open. "I can't believe you're in America... In New York... In Manhattan..." She was at complete loss of words. All I could do was stare. Not even a muscle of mine could move. Except the ones in my mouth keeping my teeth gritted.

"I can't believe you're here either." He said wrapping his arms around her. His hands dangerously low keeping on fueling my anger.

"I've missed you, Enrique." She said and his grip on her tightened. A low growl escaped me and with it, came a slight shake of the earth breaking them apart. Melanie instantly turned her head to me with a scowl in her face. "LJ...?" She warned not stepping away from the guy. I cracked my knuckles in an attempt to calm down and not destroy everything around here. I decided to play nice despite my anger, so I got up to introduce myself. The moment I did as if he only then noticed my presence, the dude let _my_ girlfriend go.

"Sorry _baby_. Won't you introduce me to your _friend_?" I asked bringing her close to me with a smirk. "Liam Kai Jackson, nice to meet you... Enrique, right?" I asked keeping the smirk.

"Yes, Enrique Moreno, but because we're in America, Senior Lucas said everyone should call me Ricky. Sounds not so Spanish according to him. Nice to meet you. Your boyfriend?" He asked looking solely at Melanie ignoring me again. This was REALLY NOT good for my short temper...

"Yes, he is. If you want to sound more American, I strongly advise you to stop using Spanish words, _Ricky_." She answered giggling. FREAKING GIGGLING! But I said I'd be playing nice...

"Since you're a friend of Melanie's, why don't you join us?" I asked keeping my hand firmly at her waist.

"Um... I can't. I'm working here, but we could go out and catch up some, right Mel?" He asked ignoring me for the third time today and called her 'Mel' again. He really had a death wish...

"I'm sure Lucas won't have a problem since you're having a slow night." I said lifting my hand up so the host would see I wanted to talk to him. I wouldn't have that guy alone with my girlfriend.

"Yes, Mr Jackson. What can I do for you?" He asked taking a slight bow.

"Since he seems to be a friend of my girlfriend, I was wondering if you could let Enrique... Sorry Ricky, join us in our meal. I'll cover his expenses." I said making it almost impossible for him to resist.

"I guess I could. But only because it's you, Mr Jackson." He said and took a bow again. "I'll send you a waiter."

"Thanks Lucas." I said before he left. "See? Everything's settled. Take a seat." I said and helped Melanie with hers as he kept standing. Did he really think I'd let him help her with her seat...?

"Thank you, Liam." She said caressing my cheek and I leaned in to kiss her. I pulled my chair so I would sit next to her and only when I sat down, did he also follow my example.

"So how do you two know each other?" I asked taking her hand in mine rubbing her knuckles softly.

"Spain. We're childhood friends." _Ricky _answered with his eyes glued to our hands. Little fucker...

"Remember when I told you about my story and how my dad was offered a job in Spain?" She asked and I nodded. "Well, he received an offer to work as chief of surgery in a hospital and since he wanted me to be away from _any danger,_ he accepted it and we went to Europe. Because he was single and everything, he had to bring me to work with him, since he didn't trust anyone." She said and the little prick continued.

"My father was working there, the chief and him became close friends until Mr Carter trusted my parents so much that he'd often let Melanie stay with me and mom. So you could say that we practically grew up together. Later, we went to the same schools, were the best of friends and so on." He said, but I didn't like the way he looked at Melanie when he said the "so on" and how she blushed. A waiter came to take our orders and to leave a bottle of water. He also purred some in our glasses before leaving.

"So on, huh?" I said and tried to regain control of my temper since it was getting out of hand. Melanie, who saw that, started rubbing my arm to calm me. When Ricky went to drink some water, I could help but almost drown him with it. He started chocking and that's when Melanie elbowed me in the side knowing I was the cause of that. She got up and tried to help him, so I let him breathe again.

"Are you okay?" She asked him worried glaring at me.

"I'm fine." he said coughing. "I just need to go to the bathroom." he got up and went to there as Melanie sat by me again and punched my arm.

"Why the hell did you do that?" She whispered-yelled.

"Did what?" I asked playing innocent.

"You know what. You almost killed him." She said glaring.

"So on? Really?" I asked trying to calm down as she gasped.

"You're jealous? Of Enrique?" she asked giggling.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't. He's known you most of your life, he's freaking eying you up every chance he gets and he almost grabbed your ass." I said through gritted teeth.

"How about I give you more than one? He's part of my past. I love you. You're part of my present and future." She said stroking my cheek.

"It's obvious you two have history. Like sex history. What if he wants to be a part of your future as well?" I asked looking away. The ocean went from calm to wavy in a matter of seconds.

"So what if we do? What if he does? Grow up Liam. You're the one I love." She said turning my head back to her. "I promise. There is nothing he can do to get me, because you already have me." She finished and crashed her lips to mine as _he _came back.

"Sorry for that. What did I miss?" He asked taking his seat again causing us to break apart, but Melanie still held my head close to hers.

"We were just doing what couples do. No big deal." She answered for me and kissed the tip of my nose before pulling back to look at him. "How did you end up here?" She asked holding my hand firmly in hers and rubbing my knuckles from time to time.

"Where to begin?" He asked rubbing his chin thinking.

"How about from after I left?" Melanie suggested and he nodded.

"Well... after you left, the hospital was left without a chief for a little while since your dad had died, but that was soon taken care of. But the new chief only cared about money, so soon the patients lost their trust to the doctors of the clinic and it had to shut down due to the lack of income a few weeks ago. My dad was fired of course and I gathered whatever savings I could find and came here in hope of a better job that would help my family. So here I am." he finished proudly. But he didn't notice how much it hurt Melanie to be reminded of her father so bluntly. Like it wasn't a big deal. Just a little detail to this fucker's life story. I wrapped my arm around her and let her hide her face in my chest for her comfort. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked worried.

"Nah... it's okay." Melanie said trying to seem brave but it honestly didn't work. "How are your parents?"

"They're well in health. Just some financial problems, but they'll be okay once I become successful." He said in determination.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" I asked curious rather than competitive.

"I love designing clothes, so I plan to become a famous fashion designer." He said proudly. Aren't most designers gay? If he is...

"Liam!" Melanie yelled slapping my arm.

"What? I didn't do anything." I said lifting my hands up innocently.

"A guy doesn't have to be gay to be in the fashion business." She said rolling her eyes. If he had been, it would have made everything easier. But how could I think that when it was obvious that Melanie and him have had sex? If he was gay, he wouldn't have..

"Sorry, I just thought..." I tried to say but couldn't finish my sentence.

"You shouldn't have thought that." Melanie said sternly as Ricky stayed silent.

"Why don't you two stop fighting since the food is here?" He finally said as truly enough another waiter came to provide us with our starters.

While we were eating, they talked about the two years that they hadn't seen each other like I wasn't there. The only evidence of (at least) Melanie's knowing of presence was that she often rubbed my arm, but even that I wasn't sure that it meant she knew I was there. She was more doing it for her comfort than acknowledging my presence. Ricky on the other hand, didn't even make the effort to look at me. His eyes were fixed on Melanie and I sure as hell hated that. They kept talking... and talking.. and talking... Talking about everything in their lives together. As they went on, I started to realize that I didn't know Melanie. At least not as well as he did. He had seen her grown up, been there at her best moments, stood by her side when her father died... What had I ever done for her? Her being with me brought her only pain.

"_There's been joy too, Liam." _Someone I was now used to hearing spoke in my head and a few seconds later I saw her walking on the beach. Of course she'd be around here to check on us. I wouldn't be surprised if my grandfather was in the water as well.

"_When, Nyx? When I went to the central park and almost got her killed? When I got in your brother's domain? When?" _I asked trying to keep my cool. Not that the other two would notice...

"_Whenever you're near her. Even now, she's looking for your comfort, not his." _She said and I knew she was right. At least for the second part.

"_Look at them, though. When have you ever seen her laugh so much with me?" _I asked and some waves began to form in the surface of the ocean.

"_Friends are people you have a laugh with. A lover is the person you want to wake up next to. Or at least that's what I've heard you say so many times to your friends." _She said.

"_But..." _I trailed off having nothing to counter that.

"_Who did she wake up smiling next to this morning?" _She asked pushing me.

"_Me." _I said and saw her smile. _"But she didn't know he was here." _Maybe now she'll want to.

"_Stop thinking like that!" _She yelled in my head.

"_Fine!" _I yelled back and turned to look at Ricky. He was freaking licking his lips while looking at my girlfriend's chest. Maybe if he didn't exist, if I did something for that...

"Liam?" Melanie asked snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Huh?" I breathed shaking my head a bit. "Sorry, I just got distracted. What were we talking about?" I asked as Melanie leaned back to rest her head against my chest.

"Just some more stories about our childhood together." He answered emphasizing the word "together" and still looking at Melanie's chest. That guy wanted to get himself killed. There was no other explanation!

"What were you thinking baby?" She asked stroking my cheek.

"Nothing in particular." I said and turned to kiss her hand. "I'll go for a walk down the beach to clear my head if you don't mind." I announced getting up. I may not trust that guy, but I didn't think he'd try anything with Lucas and the rest around here...

"Want me to come with you?" She asked getting ready to get up as well.

"Nah... it's okay. You can catch up with your _friend_. I won't be long." I said and went to walk away.

"It's already late. Let's pay and go on with our plan of sitting on the beach." She said and my eyes lit up. She'd rather be with me! "I'm sure you won't mind, right Ricky?" She asked him. YES! Liam 1 – Ricky 0!

"Of course not. Thank you for the beautiful night. It was nice seeing you again Mel." He said taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it like I was doing when he freaking came to our table. "I'll be seeing you?" He asked hopeful. I was really scared to hear her answer...

"Sure. I'm sure we can arrange something." She said and my face fell.

"Cool! When can I pick you up?" He asked so much more hopeful. Asshole...

"No need. I'll be coming with my boy. We should really find you a girl so we could double date or something. I'm sure being just the three of us must be uncomfortable." She said smiling. She meant that I'd be coming with them! YES! Liam 2 – Ricky 0!

"Um... Sure... " He said as I motioned for the waiter to come so I could pay and we could finally leave. "Seen we're done, I have to go back to work. See you later." He said and rushed out of there. I think he didn't like Melanie's answer so much and that made me grin like a fool as she stepped into my arms hugging me close. We started walking along the shore in each other's arms.

"Why are you grinning?" She asked and reached up to place a little kiss on my chin.

"You blew him off. You chose me." I said and looked down at her as she giggled. "Don't laugh. He was obviously hitting on you in every way possible. Don't try to deny it."

"I'm not denying it, but it's funny seeing you being jealous." She said and continued giggling while I pouted. "I told you already. I don't care what he wants from me. All I want is his friendship." She stepped away from me then.

"Why did you..?" I went to ask before she pushed me and I fell down. She slowly lowered herself so that she was sitting on me and bent down to whisper in my ear.

"While with you..." She said and bit on my earlobe lightly before pulling away to whisper again. "... I want so much more. I need so much more." She said and kissed me hungrily grinding against me. How could I ever doubt this woman..?

"Mel...?" I said against her lips as my hands went to her hips helping her with her movements. "Baby..?" I said again and she then pulled back only to head for my neck. "Baby, I really think we should take this somewhere else. More private." I said in between groans and deep breaths. She pulled back completely and got off me straightening her clothes as I sat there stunned.

"What are you waiting for? Get up?" She instructed and I did just that chuckling. Soon we were back in my room making passionate love to each other as our moans and groans were muffled by each other's mouths so no one would hear us.

**Ricky will stay for a chapter, two or more and he's trouble...**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	31. Jealous and insecure

**Hi guys! Sorry for the wait once again. Being back in Athens has slowed down our updates :( Well, next chapter is here now, so we hope you enjoy it. With my hurry to type the previous two chapter I forgot both times to say that both Tony and I are VERY thankful to you for reaching 400 reviews. The 400th reviewer was **_filmfurry_**, so thank you for that Film. But now with the last two chapter, you've made it to 431. So congratulations to you and we're thankful for the support :)**

**Chapter 31: Jealous and insecure**

**Liam's POV**

The next day I woke up to the buzzing sound of my phone vibrating on the nightstand. Melanie had her back against me snuggled as close to me as she could and facing the nightstand as I had one arm under her neck and the other around her resting my hand on her outer thigh. She was oblivious to the buzz, but I just couldn't ignore it. I tried to go back to sleep, but I kept hearing it, so with a groan and careful not to wake Mel up, I reached to the side for the phone. Looking at the caller ID, I didn't know who was calling me, but decided to answer it anyway.

"Hello...?" I asked yawning and rubbing my eyes.

"_Good morning sexy. How was your sleep?_" A guy's voice asked confusing me.

"Who are you?" I asked back raising my eye-brows and lying on my back. The voice was familiar...

"_Um... Liam?" _The guy asked and when I realized who it was I saw red. Not only was it _him_, but he also dared calling my girlfriend sexy, because that nickname was definitely meant for her. Not that she wasn't, but what gave him the right to do so!

"Ricky? How the hell did you find my number?" I whispered-yelled.

"_Um... Sorry. I asked for Melanie's number and Lucas gave me this one..." _He had the nerve to admit that!

"Yeah, well, Melanie doesn't have a cell phone so she used mine whenever she wants to." I said as she scouted closer to me.

"_Can I talk to her then?" _He did NOT just ask that. I had to keep my cool, no matter how freaking pissed off I was. I took a deep breath and answered.

"No you can't. She's still sleeping and I wouldn't want to wake her up. I'm sure you understand." I said trying with everything I had not to throw the damn phone against the opposite wall.

"Sí, por supuesto. I'll call later then." He said hurriedly and hung up. What the fuck had just happened? Was he seriously hitting on Melanie through the phone since he wouldn't be able to do so in person? I really needed to stop thinking about what that guys wanted with Mel. I trusted her, so I should stop feeling so freaking jealous.

My boiling anger could only be pacified by the feeling of water running down my body, so what would be better than a quick shower? I slipped away from Melanie trying successfully not to wake her up and headed for the bathroom. I got out only when I was sure that I wouldn't do anything stupid, but I didn't know how that could be translated to time. Having got dressed and worn my glasses, I went downstairs and found no one, something that was only explained when I looked at the time. Eleven already. Meaning that my parents were probably at their lectures and my friends training or having a lazy day.

I made myself a cup of coffee and went to sit in the balcony enjoying the late morning silence. But with my incredible luck of course, not only did it have to be interrupted by demigods doing their run, but also by my aunt and Goddess of love: Aphrodite. She came all of a sudden, took my cup from my hands, took a sip and sat down. I was sure I wouldn't like this...

"First of all, good morning LJ." She said and gave me back the cup.

"Good morning..." I trailed off and expected her to continue.

"Okay. Now, how's the jealousy going for you, Liam?" She asked giggling.

"Aphrodite...?" I trailed off looking at her cautiously.

"Yes, my dear nephew?" She asked never stopping the giggle.

"I just calmed down a bit. Please..." I said and got up taking deep breath and starting to pace along the balcony.

"But I don't get why you got jealous in the first place. He has absolutely nothing on you." She said the "absolutely" adding a roll of her eyes.

"He does. He grew up with her. He knows her..." She cut me off then grabbing my cheeks.

"Are you sure about that? Are you sure he knows her?" She asked but I didn't see the point in her question.

"Yes, I'm sure." I said sternly.

"Then you're wrong Liam." She said and went back to her seat smiling for some reason.

"How the hell can I be wrong, Aphrodite? They've known each other for more than fifteen years. She's known me for what? Two months? How am I supposed to compete with that?" I asked getting more frustrated by the second.

"Would you ever talk about her father the way he did? Mentioning him like he was nothing? Just a little insignificant detail in your life?" She asked and I remembered when Ricky did all that.

"No. Her father is a touchy subject. Even the mention of him brings tears in her eyes sometimes." I said taking my seat again.

"If he knows her so well as you say, don't you think he should know that and be more careful about the way he'd tell his life's story?" She asked raising her eye-brows.

"But..." I trailed off not knowing what to say to that.

"There's no but. We both know you can't say anything to that. Stop worrying and you'll see there's no reason for you to be jealous. She loves you like you love her. He can't come between you. Trust me on that one." She said and started rubbing my knuckles.

"She's the Goddess of love after all." Melanie said and wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek. "Cheering my boy up, Aphrodite?"

"Somebody had to put some sense in him." My aunt said smiling. "I should leave you two alone, shouldn't I?"

"If you don't mind..." Melanie said and came to the front of me to sit in my lap with her arms still around my neck.

"Well I do mind..." She said and we laughed. "... but I'll do it anyway."

"Thank you Aphrodite." I said and placed one of my hands on Melanie's knee while the other went to her hips.

"Yeah, yeah. Thank me by stop thinking like this." She said lifting her index finger in front of my face.

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure to keep those thoughts away from his mind." She said and squirmed a little in my lap making my breath catch up.

"I'm sure." The Goddess said giggling. "Anyway... I have to go. My kids need me."

The moment she disappeared from the balcony, Melanie turned in my lap so she was straddling me and leaned in to crash her lips to mine. She immediately slipped her tongue in my mouth also pulling a little at my hair as my hands went to her waist trying to stop her grinding movements. This went on for a couple of minutes before she pulled back but rested her forehead against mine smiling.

"How long had you been eavesdropping?" I asked also smiling.

"I wasn't eavesdropping. I was standing by the door and you just didn't notice me." She said giggling and rubbing her nose against my own.

"Let me rephrase: how much did you hear?" I asked and stole a kiss.

"Everything after Aphrodite took her seat." She said and I gulped. That's why Aphrodite started smiling after taking her seat. "I love how well you know me by the way."

"You do..?" I asked surprised.

"Yap. I also love you, which is why there is no competition between you and him. Like I said yesterday, you already have me and there is nothing Ricky can do about that. Can you please stop freaking out so much?" She asked rubbing the back of my head.

"I'm not freaking out." I said and tried to look away in vain.

"Then can you stop being jealous?" She asked looking in my eyes. How could I say no to these beautiful blue eyes?

"I can try..." I trailed off.

"Good. Is there more of that?" She asked nodding her head towards my cup of coffee.

"Yeah, on the counter." I said and she got off me. She went to adjust her outfit and only then did I notice what she was wearing. "My boxers look better on you than me." I said watching her walk away with my head turned to the side. She took the cup of coffee and came back out to sit in my lap straightening my head.

"I hope you don't mind I took them." she said blushing and took a sip. It was the first time she took the liberty of getting in anything of mine. Now, not only had she taken my shirt from last night, but also a pair of my boxers. That was really surprising.

"I don't mind. Especially after seeing this..." I said gesturing to her from head to toe. "I was just a little surprised. You've never done that."

We just sat there in silence after that enjoying each other's company. Well... she was. I couldn't stop thinking about that morning phone call from Ricky. Should I tell her and look okay with it or not and when she finds out, get yelled at? 'Cause he'd definitely tell her he called. I couldn't deny being jealous of the guy, but since I trusted Melanie, I should probably tell her, but something in me, prevented me from doing so. Insecurities? A gut feeling? Whatever it was, I wanted... No. Needed to get over it and tell her. So...

"Liam, I need to ask you something." She said at the same time I said: "Melanie, I need to tell you something."

"You first." She said looking down.

"Nope. Ladies first." I said trying to smile. She seemed to debate a little on it, before turning her head up and looked in my eyes.

"It's about Ricky." She said and my smile turned immediately to a frown.

"I needed to talk to you about him too. What about him?" I asked rubbing her back slightly.

"Well... I know you don't like him. Actually that you're jealous of him and since a lot of my time with him will be brought up when I meet him again for some catching up, I was thinking that I shouldn't put you through that." She said looking away again.

"Okay..?" I trailed off not knowing what to say.

"I'm asking you if I could go alone to meet him." She said having seen that I didn't understand what she was saying. Her being alone with him? Could I do that...? "Is your answer still 'okay'?"

"I can't say I like it, but if you think it'll be better..." I trailed off and she kissed me.

"You know you have nothing to worry about, right?" She asked against my lips.

"From you yeah. It's him, I'm worried about." I said after we pulled back. "He called this morning."

"What? How? We didn't give him your number..." She said trying to find something reasonable to what I had just said.

"He asked Lucas for your number and he gave him mine. But it's the way he spoke when I answered that worries me." I said and this time I was the one to look away.

"What do you mean, LJ?" she asked grabbing my chin and turned my head to hers.

"His exact words were: "_Good morning sexy. How was your sleep?"_. It's obvious he still wants something to do with you..." I trailed off.

"Ohhh..." she breathed.

"Ohhh?" I asked.

"You don't want to hear that. Trust me." She said, got up and started pacing. It was the first time I had seen her so nervous since the day I was preparing myself to go into Tartarus.

"I so do. You've got me curious and worried." I said and also got up.

"Fine. But try not to freak out, please." She said and I started freaking out already. Despite that, I nodded for her to continue. "Well those were his words the morning after we..." She trailed off and I stopped freaking out. Instead the ground started shaking and with it, I did too. Melanie tried to come my way, but I held my hand up.

"Don't. I don't want you hurt." I said and took deep breaths trying to calm down.

"You have nothing to worry about though." She said again as I caused another pulse of the earth and closed my eyes.

"Liam..." My grandparents' voices said cautiously.

"Baby..." Melanie also said but the two Gods didn't let her move towards me. As if they were called, my parents made their appearance too, obviously coming from their classes since mom had her glasses on and dad was all dusty and had his Riptide in hand.

"What happened?" Mom immediately asked knowing all too well that she shouldn't come anywhere near me when I was fuming.

"Poseidon..." My grandma said and the God of the sea put his hand on my shoulder before I found myself underwater...

**We'd continue this for a couple of hundred words, but if you haven't noticed, we're trying to cut down on the change of POVs in a chapter. Since this was already close to 2300 words, we thought it would be enough for a little while. Now.. next chapter, you'll hate Ricky even more than you do now. Trust me. With that, Tony and I leave you for the night.**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	32. Messing with Ricky

**No excuses this time, just the chapter before we get any online-tomatoes through at us. :)**

**Chapter 32: Messing with Ricky**

**Melanie's POV**

I shouldn't have told him that. How stupid of me. How could I tell Liam that the guy he's proven to be so jealous of said the same exact words the morning after we had said and today when he called? I know Liam and how his temper is easily raised, saw how last night his jealousy got the best of him and got angry at Ricky. He even tried to drown him with his water, so how could I have done given fuel to his anger? After I foolishly did, the earth started shaking in the way Liam did too. His trembling hands were gripped into fist as water surged though his entire body. Not in the way it did when he was shielding himself, but showing his state: out of control. He didn't even let me go anywhere near him.

To say I was hurt would be an understatement. I hope he told me that because he was afraid he would hurt me and not because he was disgusted by me, but I could only hope. Just a few minutes after I told him, his grandparents appeared at the porch of the Jacksons' house. The Goddess of Wisdom and the God of the seas stood right in front of me not allowing me to take even a step towards their grandson. Later, his parents followed and Lady Athena, just by calling out Lord Poseidon's name, made him go to Liam touch his shoulder before they both disappeared leaving me with Annabeth, Percy and Liam's grandmother as the others started to coming too.

"Melanie, what happened?" Annabeth asked again and I was about to break down for I did to her son.

"It wasn't your fault Melanie. He's always had a problem with his temper." The Goddess of Wisdom said and hugged me close to her comforting me, a move that was unusual of her when it didn't come down to her family.

"I shouldn't have told him though." I said. Everyone had then reached the balcony and looked at each other, searching for the answer to the question Annabeth had just expressed.

"What's happened? Liam must be really furious to have shaken the entire camp so much." Alex said coming to me to replace her grandmother's arms around me with her own. I told them what had happened the previous night during our date: us going to Lucas's diner, Enrique, who was now being called Ricky, proving to be a waiter there, him sitting with us, Liam's almost drowning him, to which Annabeth laughed and shared with us a same-like incident during their honeymoon, Liam's being jealous... Everything. Even today's call from him and the words he used.

"What an asshole..." Amanda trailed off.

"Language, young lady." Travis immediately said.

"Sorry dad, but he is." She said again as Travis huffed.

"Mom, mind if we go upstairs?" Alex asked.

"No. You can go." Annabeth said as Thalia, Clarisse and Jenny nodded. But before we went anywhere I had a question to ask.

"Where did Lord Poseidon take Liam?" I asked quietly.

"Somewhere where he can't hurt himself or others if he bursts out." Lady Athena said and I looked at her confused. "Underwater." I nodded and got dragged upstairs to Alex's room.

"Now that we're alone..." Abby started.

"... Is it the same Enrique you lost your virginity to?" Amanda continued.

"...who you grew up with and were friends with till you left Spain?" Alex finished.

"He is." That was my simple answer.

"You didn't tell Liam that, did you?" Amanda asked frantic.

"I'm not _that_ stupid, Amanda. Liam would flip even more." I said looking down shamefully. "I shouldn't have said anything in the first place..."

"He'd push you and you know that." Alex said and grabbed my chin to turn me to her and look into my eyes intently.

"I could always lie." I said and the three granddaughters of Athena started laughing their asses off.

"Lie to Liam? Are you serious What makes you think you'd succeed in fooling _him_?" Alex said snorting.

"I could always try. It'd be better than having him flip so bad that he didn't let me go anywhere near him." I said and looked away again.

"LJ has a short temper and we all know that. It's no secret." Abby said rubbing my shoulders.

"He didn't want me anywhere near him. He's already thinking Ricky's competition for him and that's he's no match for Ricky. What if he wants out?" I asked tearing up a little.

"Whoa... What!" All three of them asked.

"What makes you think Liam would walk away from you? He loves you." Amanda said trying to wipe away my tears with her thumb.

"Mel, you need to understand something. My brother never goes down without a fight. If he feels like there's competition, he'll fight for you." Alex said smiling at me.

"But since Ricky reappeared in my life, Liam has been distant whenever we're alone." I admitted averting my eyes from them.

"What do you mean?" They immediately asked.

"Well...He's not talking to me much for one. Last night, after we had sex, he turned away from me to sleep. This morning he didn't even try to kiss me when he normally can't keep his lips away from my skin... He's just acting off." I said fully crying then.

"Couldn't it be that he was just processing everything?" Amanda asked foolishly.

"He wasn't like that when he was going into Tartarus. Why would he be like that now if it was just processing?" I asked them.

"Because he's afraid he'll lose you to that guy." Abby said.

"But going into Tartarus could have cost his life. That was way more important." I said terrified again at the sole thought of him dying.

"Not to him apparently." Abby replied again smiling.

"I really hope you're right, because I don't know..." I was interrupted by Liam's phone ringing in his room.

"Shouldn't you pick that up?" Amanda asked.

"Yeah, you both use it after all." Abby supported.

"What if it's _him_?" I asked snuggling closer to Abby.

"We'll see in about twenty seconds." Alex said before storming out of the room probably to go answer the phone. She was back a few seconds later and answered the phone putting it in the middle of us in loud speaker. "Hello?"

"_Um... Hi. I called Liam Jackson right?" _The speaker, who I could easily identify as Ricky, asked hesitantly.

"Yap. I'm his sister, Alex. And you are?" She asked calmly looking at me with a simple question in her eyes which I answered with a nod.

"_I'm Enrique Moreno, Melanie's childhood friends. Your brother met me yesterday when he was with Melanie. Maybe they've mentioned me as Ricky..." _He trailed off giving Alex the time to remember.

"Not really. Maybe they would've if they weren't so busy with each other." Alex said and the other two silently high-fived her.

"Oh..." Ricky said awkwardly.

"Yeah. Well do you want anything?" She asked in an indifferent tone.

"I was wondering if I could speak with Melanie actually..." He kind of asked and Alex looked at me questioning. I nodded and she went back to looking at the phone.

"Yeah, sure. Let me go find her." She said and got up before walking out of the room. A few minutes later, she came back in saying: "Melanie, there's some 'Ricky' dude on the phone and wants to talk to you." Those grandchildren of Athena were freaking geniuses! I decided to play along.

"Give me the phone then." I said and she gave me the phone which was still on loud speaker. "Hi, Ricky. What's up?"

"Good morning Melanie. How was your sleep beautiful?" He asked and even through the phone, the smirk that played with his lips was evident. At least to me. Alex quickly took a notebook and wrote something down expecting me to say that apparently.

"Short, but peaceful. I was in my man's arms after all." I read and was thankful what I said was true... Partly at least...

"Oh..." He trailed off and the girls gave me a thumbs-up. "I called earlier. Did Liam tell you that?" He asked and I could once again envision his smirk. Did he really stoop so low and want to damage my relationship with Liam? I didn't even need to see whatever the girls had written. This time I answered on my own.

"He did. In fact he saved your number so I could call you back when we'd get up." I said and we all heard the muttered "damn" he breathed.

"Why didn't you then? Didn't he let you?" He asked again.

"We woke up just under an hour ago and were having our coffee out in the balcony. I'd call you sometime later." I said by myself again/\.

"Okay then. So can you talk?" he asked and we all rolled our eyes.

"If I couldn't, would I be talking to you right now?" I asked in a "DUH!" tone.

"Oh, right... Sorry." he apologized in embarrassment. "Anyway. Is there a chance we can meet for a coffee, ice-cream or whatever else? Just to catch up some more." He suggested and I needed some help then. Thankfully, before he had even finished his question, Alex had started writing, so there was no pause between him question and my answer.

"How about you give me an hour or so to see if Liam has anything planned and I'll get back at you?" I read and the girls smiled at me, but then I decided to add a little something. "If he has something, maybe I could even try to get out of it..." The moment the words left my mouth, the girls' triumphant smiles turned into frowns. I internally slapped myself.

"Cool. I'll be waiting for your answer, sexy." He said and the girls made some faces of disgust as he hung up.

"How could you do that!" Amanda asked-yelled.

"So freaking close..." Abby said shaking her head. Alex didn't even move a muscle. I expected her to be the fist to slap me, but she didn't even speak, let alone move.

"What Alex? Don't you have anything to say? Come on! Yell! Tell me I screwed up!" I yelled at the top of my lungs in frustration. I hated when either she or Liam did that. Then she opened her mouth and I got myself ready for the yelling that was about to come.

"You didn't screw up, Mel." She said confusing me. Apparently not just me.

"It's the perfect opportunity." She said to her herself, but as if light-bulbs turned on above their heads, Amanda and Abby simultaneously said: "Ahhhh..."

"Can someone tell me what the heck is going on in your heads?" I asked since they weren't saying anything.

"Liam's gone. Ricky asked you to meet him. Don't you see how good this is?" Alex asked.

"Ummm... No..?" I trailed off expecting them to continue.

"Liam won't know you went to meet him, so you can go and tell him that there's nothing between the two of you, showing him his place." Alex said and I could easily find a fault in her plan.

"What if Liam gets back before me? And even if he doesn't, I don't want to lie to my own boyfriend." I said and placed my hands under my chin supporting my head.

"You seemed pretty keen on trying to fool him just a few minutes ago." Amanda noticed.

"That was different." I said huffing. "What am I gonna do...?"

"First of, you'll calm down. Liam's not leaving you and you two are fine." Abby said.

"And Ricky?" I asked.

"Do you want him in your life?" Alex asked.

"I want my friend in my life, but I don't see him in Ricky anymore, so I don't know." I admitted.

"Text him in about 10 minutes saying that you'll meet him at the Starbucks by the Central Park." Alex instructed and I nodded.

"Don't forget to also delete the text though. If Liam comes back before you, we'll handle him." Amanda said smiling.

"Okay, but how will I get to the city?" I asked trying desperately to avoid what they wanted me to do.

"Stop trying to find flaws in our master-plan!" Alex whined.

"You can take my car." Abby offered. I wasn't getting out of this whether I liked it or not.

* * *

**A little over half an hour later**

In about forty-five minutes I had managed to get ready, text Ricky, delete the sent message, wait for a reply which never came and set off in Abby's car to meet him. Or at least go to the place I told him to meet me, because he never confirmed coming as well. The girls had even offered to send someone to look out for me, but I told them I could and had to do that alone.

I was hoping for two things while on my way to the city. One was that Liam wouldn't realize my absence so much and that if he did, the girls would "handle" him like they said. The other thing was that Ricky would show up. Since I was already taking this risk of going to meet him without Liam knowing, the least he could do was make an appearance.

I arrived at our meeting place and luckily found a parking space right in the front door. After getting my coffee, second for the day might I add, I took a seat in one of the front tables so that Ricky couldn't miss me and waited. My hopes were up, wishing he wanted to see me as much as I needed to talk to him and stop him from continuously trying to damage my relationship with the man I loved. I had even prepared a speech for that, but all was forgotten when he came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my cheek. All I wanted was to slap him in the spot instead of talking to him, but I couldn't make a single move.

"Holla hermoso." He said and took a seat next to me. "Thanks for meeting me. I hope Liam doesn't mind you canceled on him." He said with a slight smirk.

"Who said I canceled on him? He didn't have anything planned after all, so he told me that I could come see you alone if I wanted." I half-lied, but he didn't notice since his face fell down immediately.

"Oh... Good. We wouldn't want him upset, right?" He asked grabbing my hands.

"First of all, stop with the gestures. Coming up behind me and kissing me on the cheek like that? And now this?" I asked raising our hands before taking mine out of his as I had enough.

"I'm sorry. It's just that's how we've always been." he said trying to act innocent.

"Yeah. When we were kids. When we were in Spain. When I didn't have Liam." I said and he got uneasy at the mention of his name.

"So he's the reason I can't get my friend back..." He trailed off looking away.

"No. You are. You've changed and you obviously want more than just my friendship. "Good morning sexy"? Are you serious? Do you even remember when you said that?" I asked ready to break down.

"Of course I remember. The morning after you gave yourself to me." He said proudly making me sick.

"That's all you remember? That's all that matters to you? That we had sex ONCE?" I asked and a few tears escaped me.

"It would have been more if you had stayed." He said shrugging.

"My father got killed the night I was "giving myself" to you. That's what I was reminded of when Liam passed down your words. My father's death, you asshole! That's why I left Spain, in case you don't remember that either." I said and got up to leave, but he followed after me.

"Melanie, wait! I'm sorry. I'm such a jackass. God! Please... I'm sorry I didn't remember that. Please..." He begged over and over again, even after I had got in Abby's car. "Just give me another chance to be a part of your life. A friend. Please..." He held onto the door not letting it close. "One chance. Come to my place and we'll talk like friends do. That's all I ask. He said and the look in his eyes was sincere. Like Enrique, my friend. The child I grew up with. Not this new version of him I got to know in the few hours he was back in my life. Having been through so much with him, I couldn't deny him a chance...

"Get in the car before I change my mind." I said and he starting jumping up and down before he finally walked to the other side getting in.

"My place is on the other side of the park." He said and I sped off. I didn't talk to him through the ten minute drive to the opposite side of the park and neither did he even try to say a word to me. I was trying to compose myself and not think of the morning I found out my father was dead.

"Where's your house exactly?" I asked when we were halfway the other side.

"It's at the end of the road, so park anywhere you can find closer to the end." He said using his hands to direct me more accurately. We moved towards his appointed direction and after a few red lights, Ricky finally held up his index finger and shouted: "There's a space. It's close enough to my house so we're good." He said and I quickly took up the space before anyone else could and we got out heading for his apartment.

**The title is irrelevant with a big part of the chapter, but my idiot of a brother was too eager and wouldn't let neither me not Tony to think, so that's the result. A crappy title. Anyway... we hope you enjoyed it :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	33. Talks out of the Blue

**Wow... I had totally forgotten I gave my notebook to Mike and asked him to type this. But he did, so anyone who's still reading this doesn't have to wait till I lazily type it. Info on this chapter? I wrote it by myself. I guess I took my "anger" towards Tony out on writing. Like Mike said: all the better for you since it's 4618 words or 23 notebook pages long. Anyway... Enjoy.**

**Chapter 33: Talks out of the blue**

**Liam's POV**

I was really close to bursting out before my grandfather brought me underwater. But I got the light feeling of the sea water touching every part of my body, I relaxed immediately. It was as if the water was giving me no other choice, but to calm, so I had to comply to its request. My grandfather gave me a few seconds to calm down completely and when he saw I was back to myself, he approached me smiling.

"Better now?" He asked putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Way better. Thank grandpa." I said and swan over to the nearest rock which I sat down.

"Wanna talk about what happened?" He asked taking a seat next to me. His being a God totally forgotten. Now he was just my grandfather.

"I got jealous. That's what happened. But I don't want to talk about it further." I said looking around. There wasn't even a trace of light except for the little coming from the couple of deep-sea fish around us. "Where are we?" I asked not recognizing anything.

"Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific. No big deal. Just in case you bursted out." He said keeping the smile on his face. "And if you say so, champ, there's nothing to talk about. But there is someone that needs to talk to you." He said and I looked at him curious. But then I got it.

"Is he trying to sneak up on me again?" I asked chuckling.

"I didn't mean Triton, LJ." He said and I then got another idea.

"Uncle Tyson, then?" I asked again.

"Nope. He's with the other cyclopes." He answered calmly.

"Then who, grandpa?" I asked confused.

"Hades. He said it's vital that he talks to you as soon as possible." He said shrugging.

"Do you happen to know anything about it?" I questioned yet again.

"No, sorry. Are you ready though? Do you think you can handle it?" He asked getting up.

"I'm fine. Let's go." I said smiling.

"Aren't we a little eager, Liam?" He said chuckling.

"How could I not? The sooner we get to the Underworld, the sooner I'll be done and able to go back to my girl. I really need to explain myself. Pushing her away like that must have been hurtful." I said looking away shamefully. The only reason why I did it was to protect her. I knew I was losing control of myself and I couldn't have her be the victim of my inability to control my own self.

My grandfather nodded before putting his hand on my shoulder again and I found myself in the Underworld without him anywhere near me. I knew the place, so I could easily find my way. I walked towards my uncle's castle, but on the way there, something was odd. Two people were following me. The souls around the Underworld mostly either ignored and avoided me or just stare. But never anything more, so I turned around to see who was on my tail. Two figures jumped on me scaring the crap out of me. Then I realized who those two were: Ixion and Sisyphus.

"Gods! Guys, you scared me." I said taking deep breaths.

"We're ghosts, Liam." Ixion said.

"Isn't scaring the life out of people what ghosts do for fun in your days?" Sisyphus asked chuckling and they helped me up.

"Never thought of it that way..." I trailed off chuckling and dusted myself off. "So what have you been up to?"

"Enjoying life now that we don't have any burdens." Sisyphus said smiling.

"And all that thanks to you." Ixion said patting my back.

"Okay, sorry for ruining the moment, but how can you enjoy _life_ since you're dead?" I asked laughing.

"When you die, you'll see." Ixion answered seriously.

"Agreeing with my pal here. Besides, with no eternal punishments to fulfill after so many years, just laying back and pulling prank the others is fun." Sisyphus said nudging me.

"Well, guys, I think I have a long way before that, don't you?" I asked a little awkwardly.

"Sure... We're just saying." They said shrugging.

"Ixion, Sisyphus, when will you stop harassing people? Dead or Alive?" Hades asked appearing right in front of us with a scowl on his face.

"Sorry Sir. Won't happen again." They said before running away after a simple "See you later, LJ."

"Ever since you sent me these two fools, they haven't stopped pulling pranks on everyone. It's actually getting pretty annoying." Hades said frowning.

"Give them a break, uncle. They've been in that pit hole unfairly undergoing punishments I wouldn't wish on anyone..." I said watching them run away.

"Fine, but promise me to never again go into Tartarus." He said seriously.

"Sure, uncle, but why?" I asked curious. Now that I knew what Achilles was capable of, why didn't he want me to go down there? It's not like anyone could match with me. Not after everything the Gods had taught me.

"Because there sure are many more of its inmates that are unfairly there and with the rate you're feeling sorry for them and ask Zeus to allow them to come here, I'll have my hands full with mindless fools like these two." He said and I was laughing my ass off in that moment.

"What do you mean with my rate?" I managed to ask in between laughing.

"Are you seriously asking me that? You met two inmates and those two are now wandering around the Underworld. You have a 100% ratio at forgiving Tartarus's prisoners." He said inducing my state. It was the first time I had seen him so irritated and it was extremely funny. "When you're done laughing, there's someone I want you to meet." I heard him say and tried my best to calm down. After a few minutes I had stopped and was ready to meet whoever Hades wanted me to meet.

"I'm cool now." I said and he nodded before walking away.

Guessing he wanted me to follow, I walked behind him as his tail not knowing where we were supposed to be heading. The path we were following was one I had never taken before. The more we walked, the brighter everything became. Less and less the souls of people that had passed we encountered, until there was none. Instead of the black toulipes and orchids around the Underworld, I could then see a combination of white and blue lilies. Smell their amazing scent. My favourite flowers. But... how could this be?

"Haven't you guessed already?" Hades asked me surprised. I, however, still had no idea where we were going. Everything seemed strange and out of place. The Underworld wasn't supposed to be like hell, that was what Tartarus was, but it definitely shouldn't be so... so... full of a feeling of happiness and hope. Unless... "Finally!"

"The Elysian Fields?" I asked in utter surprise. "You said you'd never take me there no matter how much I begged..." I trailed off in disbelief.

"I know this is where you'll end up, so I didn't want to ruin it for you." He said and I couldn't help but smile at his comment. "But the circumstances have changed and you need to meet this person."

"Okay, but why is it like this?" I asked right before he stopped dead on his tracks and turned to me.

"Whatever you're seeing and we'll be seeing when we walk past this door is probably a unique sight and by that I mean that only YOU can see it this way. This will be YOUR heaven..." I cut him off.

"My heaven is being with Melanie..." I trailed off.

"You won't see her because she's not dead, but the scenery will be full of our favourites. Foods, drinks, activities and so on. This place adjust to people's wishes making them spend an eternity of joy and piece and that's why few come here. Understood so far?" He asked seriously and I nodded. "You may also be tempted to stay, but you can't do that, okay? No living human or demigod has ever been brought here so I don't know exactly what the Elysium's effect will be on you."

"Okay..? I'll do my best to resist any possible temptation." I said knowing he wanted to hear that and he nodded.

"Okay then. Follow me." He said and walked in through the huge white doors with one simple word carved on them: "Ηλύσιον". The Elysium in Greek. How didn't I notice these gigantic doors when we had stopped is beyond me.

After Hades walked through them, I followed cautiously. The moment I stepped my foot on the other side of them, a slight breeze touched my skin making me feel the same elation and contentedness I felt whenever I was underwater. I caught the faint scent of the sea, mixed with the aroma of the lilies I had seen earlier. I couldn't help but close my eyes letting myself in those amazing sensations.

"Liam!" Hades yelled shaking me. "I told you before we walked in: You MUST resist whatever you see or feel here."

"But it's so amazing... So peaceful..." I trailed off.

"Do you remember what you told me? Your heave is with Melanie... Do you see her anywhere?" He asked grabbing my chin and turned my heads towards each and every direction so that I could see that Melanie was nowhere to be found. Slowly and gradually, I regained my control and knew why I was here.

"I'm fine. Who am I supposed to meet?" I asked shaking my head to clear my mind a bit.

"Me." A man said. His voice came from somewhere in front of me, but I couldn't see clearly. Then Hades brought down my glasses which apparently were resting on my head and I could finally see the man. He seemed to be in his late forties despite the many stress induced wrinkles on his forehead. He was wearing a pair of dress pants, a shirt and a white coat. He seemed to be a doctor. "Thank you for this favor, lord Hades." The man said taking a bow before my uncle having come closer to us.

"You're welcome, James. Just use your time wisely." Hades said before walking away probably giving us some privacy.

"Hello, Liam." The man said turning to me. My eyes were immediately fixed on his. They were deep blue and the light in them seemed so familiar.

"Hello, sir." I said shaking his extended hand. "Don't want to be rude, sis, but who are you and why do you look so familiar?" I asked.

"Right to the chase I see. My name's James Carter and I believe you're dating my daughter." He said and I slapped myself internally. Of course! Melanie's father. Those eyes.

"Oh my Gods... I'm sorry for not recognizing you." I apologized looking down shamefully. "Your daughter looks so much like you."

"It's okay, Liam. You're not here so I can yell at you." He said patting my shoulder.

"Then why am I here, sir?" I asked curious.

"Please call me James. I believe you've earned that after all the times you've saved my daughter." He said smiling.

"How do you know...?" He cut me off then.

"Nyx does me the favor of updating me on our daughter's life every now and then. Which is why you're here." He said confusing me.

"Um... could you be a little more specific?" I asked in an attempt to end my confusion.

"Of course... Enrique Moreno marched back in her life. Is that correct?" He asked motioning me to join him to the nearby rock where we sat down.

"Yes. We encountered him last night and I think he'll stay in her life." I said looking away.

"Liam, look at me." He waited until I did, before he continued. "You have nothing to worry about or be jealous of. My little princess was never in a relationship with him or looked at him as anything more than a friend." I was about to protest to that but he held his finger up. "I know what you're gonna say. I don't know what he did to make her sleep with him but I know my daughter." He said and I couldn't doubt him.

"If you say so, James. You've known her a whole lot longer than I have after all." I said nodding.

"Good. Now that's clear, you need to know something. Something that Enrique should have told Melanie, but never did. Liam do you know how and when I died?" He asked me seriously.

"On Melanie's 16th birthday and it was a drunken driver's fault. That's what I know." I said starting to feel a little uncomfortable about the way the way our talk had turned out. I had a feeling I wasn't going to like how this would end up.

"That's correct, Liam. The first few hours of March 1st two years ago, after a long thirty-six-hour shift I was driving my car back home. I remember the last time I checked the clock it said 12:30 am, before I looked up to see a large pick-up truck coming my way. I knew there was no possible way to avoid it so I gripped the steering-wheel tight and prayed to Nyx to take care of our daughter. The other driver tried to avoid me. I don't know what happened next exactly, but I found myself out of the car lying on the ground tasting my own blood. I couldn't move my legs, but my arms seemed okay. There was pain in most of my body and being a doctor, I tried to assess the damage." I cut him off again.

"Is this truly necessary, James?" I asked.

"It is. I know it's difficult to hear but you need to know. Let me continue." He said and I nodded. "Thank you. As I was saying I tried to see how much damage there was. A few broken ribs, my legs, wounds on my arms and chest, but worse of all was my head. Although there was nothing more than a deep cut on the outside, for some reason I knew there was internal bleeding. Don't ask why, 'cause I don't know myself. I just knew. I turned my head to look at the other car and no one was moving , so they were either dead or unconscious. Some time later, a car pulled up and outside came a guy." He said and I knew what was coming.

"He walked over to me and I immediately recognized him: Enrique Moreno. He did too and knelt close to me to check on me I reckon. He was drunk and I could smell it despite my situation. He mumbled something incoherent about Melanie, said he was sorry and walked away from the scene. Not calling for an ambulance or saying anything to anyone. As the end of my life kept approaching, I prayed to Nyx again." He stopped then to smile a little... Probably at a memory.

"Nyx... She had always been around Melanie, you know. Even when my little girl didn't know it. After a period of time, long or short I don't know, the lady of the night appeared next to me. She was crying and saying that she was sorry she didn't come earlier. She grabbed my phone and called an ambulance. It was the only thing she could do, but we both knew it was pointless at that point. It had been too late. She stayed with me in those last moments, because I didn't want to be alone when I died. The last thing I saw was her mouthing that she loved me. Do you realize what I just told you means?" He asked with tears in his eyes.

"_He _is the one responsible for your death. If he had called for help, you'd be alive." I said and realized I was also tearing up.

"Exactly. You're the only one that knows that except for Nyx." he said and grabbed my shoulder.

"You want me to tell her, don't you?" I asked and he nodded. "It'll kill her. She just suffered a miscarriage. If she finds out..."

"You think I don't know all that, Liam? But you can help her get through it. She has to know." He said looking into my eyes.

"Why me? Why now? Why didn't Nyx tell her since she knew?" I asked trying to find a way to get out of this impossible task.

"Why now? She can now confront him for it. Why you? Because she loves you and you know her. You know how to tell her so that it doesn't hurt as much. Why didn't Nyx tell her? Because she didn't know until last night. When she told me that Enrique had entered her life again, I had to tell her. I'm asking you to do this for me, Liam. I need her to know. Please..." He pleaded and I couldn't refuse him this.

"No matter how much I hate it, I will do it. I promise I will." I said.

"Do I have your word?" He asked.

"You have my word" I answered and he crushed me into a strong, father-like hug.

"Thank you Liam. I have only one more request if you don't mind. Take care of my princess." He said in my ear much like my mother had done to Melanie when she and I were to return to camp with Cloud.

"I will. I'll do everything in my power to take care of her and make her happy." I replied and we pulled back.

"I'll always be around you two. You may not be able to see or know, but I'll always be there. And I'll be waiting here for you. Just don't rush okay?" He said chuckling and I couldn't help but join in.

"I wish you could be there in person. Escort your daughter down that aisle, where I'll eagerly be waiting. Be there when our first child will be born. Every little moment." I said truthfully.

"I don't think I would be there in every little moment anyway. You're demigods while I'm just a human. But it would be nice. He said smiling. "Nyx..." He trailed off looking behind me.

"I would never expect you to be here while alive, LJ." She said approaching.

"I guess I'm full of surprises." I said and James chuckled.

"I like this kid Nyx. I can definitely understand why our little girl love him." he said making me smile.

"Same here, Jamie. Same here." She said smiling at me as well. "Have you told him?"

"I did. Everything. To the last detail." He answered wiping away some of his tears.

"I'm sorry to ruin the moment, but Liam needs to leave the Fields..." Hades said walking back towards us.

"Understandable..." Both Nyx and James said in unison and got up. Before I left, I had to do something.

"It was an honor to meet you Dr James Carter. Even under these circumstances." I said extending my hand.

"The same applies to me Mr Liam Kai Jackson. Tell my princess I lover, okay?" he asked.

"I'll make sure she knows. Nyx..." I said taking a bow.

"We'll see each other sooner than you think, Liam..." She trailed off confusing me, but none the less I walked back to Hades without asking a single question. He offered me his hand and the moment I found myself back at camp at the pavilion along with everyone else. When they realized our presence, everyone turned to look at us. To avoid their stare, I quickly shuffled my way to my table where Alex, Abby and Amanda had their mouths open in surprise I presumed.

"Close your mouths girls." I said putting a finger under Alex's chin and lifted it up closing her mouth. She immediately snapped out of it and so did the other two. But that's when I noticed Melanie wasn't there. "Girls, where's Melanie? I need to talk to her about something." I said looking at them expectantly.

"She's in her cabin." Amanda said taking a bite. I got up to go to Nyx's cabin and Alex did too putting her hand on my shoulder and tried to pushing me back down.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked when I sat down.

"To see my girlfriend?" I asked and tried to get up again, but she wouldn't let me. "Just let my shoulder go, sis."

"After pushing her away this morning? Don't think so mister. You'll give her some time and let her come to you." Abby practically ordered.

"But I need to talk to her now." I whined.

"You can tell her your excuses in a few hours. A little wait won't hurt." Amanda said glaring at me. It was obvious I wasn't getting out of this so I decided to go along with whatever the girls wanted.

"Fine. I suppose it won't hurt to wait." I said and took a seat. But then I remembered about Ricky and wanted to check my phone in case he called like he said he would, so I once again tried to get up. "Relax. I'm just going home. Promise." I said before the girls could try to stop me again. They looked at me up and down before nodding and letting me go.

Before I left the pavilion, I went to my parents' table and kissed my mother's cheek, like I often did, making her smile at the gesture. I jogged my way back home, got in my room as soon as possible and plopped down on my bed, momentarily trying to forget whatever I found out today. My effort proved meaningless though, since no matter what I couldn't get my mind off of Ricky's actions, so I just reached to the side for my phone. One text from him. Hmm... I opened it and read:

_Okay beautiful. I'll see you there._

_We could even go to my place afterward_

_since it's on the other side of the park._

_If you don't mind of course._

_Ricky._

She went to meet him! He's responsible for her father's death and she went to meet him? And the girls obviously knew about it and are covering up for her! UGH! It took me less than a minute to get to the garage, on my bike and start its buzzing engine. I drove down to the pavilion, got off the bike having caught everyone's attention once again and went to my friends' table banging my fist in it with so much force that I heard a crack.

"I'll ask once and I want an answer. Where the fuck is Melanie meeting Ricky?" I asked so loud that probably everyone heard me.

"Liam, calm do..." I banged the table again cutting Alex off.

"Don't. Tell. Me. To. Calm. Down. Answer my fucking question." I said not even bothering to calm down.

"Starbucks, Central Park." Abby said giving up the silence. "She's taken my car." I didn't need anything else. I practically jumped on the bike and sped off again. This time the reason I flipped wasn't jealousy. No. It was anger. Anger towards Ricky, who not only left James for dead, but he also invited my girlfriend to his place. He deprived her of her father for fuck's sake and he invited her over for some chit-chat? Who does he think he is? When I got to the Starbucks, I ran straight to the cashier.

"How can I help you?" The girl asked eying me up. That was the least of my concerns in that moment.

"Yes, in fact you can. Have you seen this girl?" I asked showing her a picture of me and Melanie a few weeks back, which was stored stored in my phone. Her face fell right after she took a look at the photo and sighed.

"She was here about twenty minutes ago. A guy was with her too. He was cute. She got up screaming at him and they left together after he obviously apologized." She answered huffing.

"Thanks. I appreciate it... Alyson." I said after reading her name tag. I got back on my bike, not starting it yet. I had to think first. Then it hit me. The text. He suggested them going to his place. It was on the other side of the park!

Not wasting any more time, I drove to the other side of the park. Vehicle to vehicle, I was trying to find Abby's car until I finally found it close to the end of the road. Getting off quickly, I then had to find the apartment block. Could this day get any worse? I decided to check on my right first, but something stopped me. Whatever it was, it started taking its form. Nyx.

"I told you you'd see me sooner than you would've thought." She said smiling.

"You did. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Saving you some time. Fourth one behind you." she said and disappeared as quickly as she came.

"Thanks for that." I said to the air before heading towards the building she had appointed. When I went to ring the right bell, none held the name of Enrique Moreno. Perfect... This day was getting better and better...

"Excuse me..." A man said behind me. I turned to face him. He was wearing a suit and talking on the phone while also looking at me weird. "You're standing in the way..." He trailed off and I got out of the way.

"Sorry, I was just looking for someone." I said and went to step away from the building when I got an idea. "Um, sorry..." I trailed off catching his attention before he got inside.

"Yes?" he asked hanging up and put his phone in his chest pocket.

"Do you happen to know if a guy names Enrique Moreno lives in this building?" I asked.

"Ricky? Yeah." He answered nodding.

"Okay and do you know which apartment?" I questioned again.

"Who are you and why do you ask?" He asked cautiously.

"Oh sorry... You must think I'm some kind of stalker." I said scrunching my face. "I'm a friend of Ricky's. Well, I met him yesterday to be honest, but my girlfriend is a friend of his from Spain. Melanie Carter? Maybe he's mentioned her?" I explained.

"Melanie? Yeah, he's mentioned her before. My Ricky's best childhood friend." He said and one little word caught me off guard.

"Did you just say _your _Ricky?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah. I'm John Trager, Ricky's boyfriend."

**Not many would have expected this right? But as Kayla once said, I love the twists. As much as I love spicing things up. Hope you liked it. **

**(for the first and possibly only time...)**

**The twins :)**


	34. Confrontations

**Longest chapter ever! Over 6000 words and all for you. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 34: Confrontations**

**Liam's POV**

"Wow... I didn't know that he's gay." I blurted out without thinking. I hoped I hadn't offended him.

"Now you do." John said chuckling. "You said you're Melanie's boyfriend right?"

"Yeah.." I said scratching the back of my head.

"How come you're here alone then? Since you don't know my boy so well and all?" He wondered stepping closer to me.

"Actually, she was supposed to meet him and then come back here, so..." I was explaining when he cut me off by chuckling.

"So you got jealous..." He said in between laughs. "Well... if they are upstairs, they're probably just chatting and catching up. Nothing to worry about." He said patting me on the back.

"If you say so.." I trailed off.

"I do say so. How about you and I go upstairs so you can see for yourself?" He finally suggested.

"Only if you don't mind." I said looking up at him.

"I wouldn't suggest it if I minded, now would I?" He asked chuckling.

"I guess not. I also really need to talk to Melanie." I said as he turned to the door. While we were making our way upstairs, my mind was fixed on the part of Ricky's sexuality. According to this guy, he was gay. So why was he flirting with Melanie so openly yesterday and why did he sleep with her in the first place? I couldn't duel on it further because John stopped in front of one of the doors taking his keys out.

"Just give me a minute to find the right key. I always forget." He said smiling.

"Sure. Take your time." I said and started playing with my ring. For some reason, I was really tempted to twist it revealing Achilles in all its glory. Not that Ricky and John would take notice because of the Mist.

"There..." He said opening the door. He walked in first, of course, heading to what I assumed to be the living room. "Ricky..? Where are you ba...?" He said but stopped mid-sentence. When I went closer to him I figured out why and my hand started trembling at the sight. Melanie was pushed up against a wall, arms pinned on it and Ricky's mouth was on her neck. Motherfucker!

"Get off me, you asshole!" She kept saying to him but he wouldn't budge. John and I were too stunned to act on anything. I didn't need to move to cause the earthquake that occurred though. But it seemed to catch Melanie's attention 'cause she turned to us with tears in her eyes. "Liam!" She whispered-yelled snapping me out of my trance. I ran to them grabbing him by the back of his shirt and threw him off of her. He ended up smashing the glass table and yelling in pain, but I honestly couldn't care less in that moment. All I _did_ care about was the crying Melanie I had in my arms. "Baby, I'm so sorry. He..." She tried to say.

"Don't worry about me. How are you?" I asked trying to check on her.

"Physically fine. But he... forced himself on me..." She said sobbing against my chest.

"John!" I yelled trying to catch the attention of Ricky's boyfriend, who kept his gaze fixed on the guy then lying on the floor of his living room.

"You..." He trailed off never averting his eyes from Ricky.

"Johnny... I..." The Spanish guy winced in pain.

"I'm away for two weeks, come to our home earlier to surprise you and I find you ready to cheat on me by raping your best-friend? Who is also a WOMAN! What the fuck, Ricky!" He asked throwing his suitcase on the floor with might.

"Johnny, I... can explain." Ricky stammered again.

"Shut the fuck up!" He yelled again. None of the three of us was going anywhere near the hurt boy on the floor. Melanie was scared, I was afraid I'd kill him and I guess John was the same way. "Liam, Melanie, I'm sorry for this... monster." He apologized still looking at Ricky.

"Liam, can we just go please? I can't stand being here." Melanie pleaded never taking her face away from my chest. As much as I wanted to get her out of there, I had a promise to keep. A promise I couldn't break.

"We will. After I tell you what that fucker should have told you." I said kissing her head. I pulled her away from me and made her look at me. "Mel, what I'll say will hurt you. So much that I wish I didn't have to tell you. So much more than what he tried to do just now."

"Then why tell her?" John asked looking at Ricky in disgust.

"Because I promised someone I would." I said and turned back to Melanie. "Baby, remember when you told me of your story and how your father's death was a drunken driver's fault?" I asked.

"NOOO!" Ricky yelled ignoring the pain. He must have figured what I wanted to say.

"I do. After the first match. The first time we kissed." She said not paying any attention to Ricky.

"The crash might have been that driver's fault, but James's death was Enrique Moreno's fault.." I said and Melanie looked at me in shock.

"Liam..." She cautiously started to say.

"Ask him if you don't believe me." I said a little hurt at her disbelief, but I could also understand it. It's not everyday that someone comes and tells you that your father died because of your supposed best friend. She looked at me a little longer before she walked over to him.

"Please tell me what Liam just said is false information. A lie. Don't give me more reasons to hate hate you." She said and he looked away in shame.

"What do you want me to say, Mel?" He asked making John snap.

"You try to rape your best friend and now we find out you're a murderer?" He yelled with a disgusted look on his face. I couldn't blame him.

"I'm NOT a murderer, okay?" Ricky yelled back at us.

"Then why don't you tell me what Liam just said is a lie?" My girl asked crying. He looked at me murderously before speaking.

"You ruined everything. You stupid asshole. It's all your fault." He would have continued his cursing hadn't it been for both his boyfriend and Melanie who slapped him.

"Don't blame Liam you fucking bastard. I know him for only a few minutes and I can see that he's more trustworthy than you. And I've know you for a whole fucking year," John defended me and Melanie ran to hide her head in my chest once more." I just wrapped my arms around her not daring to say anything else.

"_Thank you._" I mouthed to John. Like he had said he only knew me for a few minutes, yet he stood up for me against the guy he called his boyfriend. I was thankful for that.

"What did you do to my father?" Melanie screamed against my shirt.

"Baby girl, you don't ..." I dared whisper in her ear.

"I wanna know." She said and turned in my arms to face him as he'd answer. "I want you to look me in the eye and tell me what you did to my father before coming to my house and guilt-force me to sleep with you." She screamed again.

"I..." He started unable to continue with his sentence because of the pain. Gritting his teeth, he spoke: "I was returning from Marisol's party. The one you weren't allowed to come because alcohol was to be served. I got drunk, but still drove my way back home. On that dangerous turn on the way, I saw two cars having crashed and two people on the road. The first I went to was dead. The second was your father." He said sighing.

"Keep on or I will." I said murderously.

"My mind wasn't clear because of the alcohol and I was scared they'd charge me or something which is why I left the scene without calling for help or anyone." He said and winced again in pain when John punched him. Melanie, escaping my hold, turned invisible and started punching and kicking her childhood friend from every angle making it impossible for me to know where she was in that moment. The two humans in the room looked around in confusion while Ricky also kept screaming in pain for her to stop. Since she had already exposed us, I surrounded Ricky with water so that she could no longer hurt him. Like I expected she turned visible and looked at me with hate in her eyes.

"Why did you do that?" she asked and using the water in her body, I brought her close to me.

"You're not a killer." I said and tried to wrap my arms around her but she kept thrashing around.

"We kill monsters, so why shouldn't we kill this one?" She asked hitting me in the chest.

"He's human, Mel. You can't. I can't. No matter how much we both want to." I said, but she still wouldn't stop hitting me. Then I tried something else. Something that always worked when she did it to me: I crashed my lips down on her. She was taken off guard and despite everything that was going on, she responded for a few, before fainting in my arms. Something I expected considering the amount of stress she had been under.

"Is she okay?" Ricky asked ignoring all the pain. Caused by his fall on the glasses in his leg and Melanie.

"As long as you stay away from her, she will be." I said and took Melanie down to Abby's car. I laid her down on the back seat and went back upstairs right when Ricky was picking himself up since no one seemed to be willing to help him.

"You can stay here until you find a place to live, but then you're getting the hell out of my house and life. Asshole..." John said slamming the door to what I assumed to be his bedroom. Ricky looked up after yelping and his eyes were fixed on me.

"What do you want? Haven't you done enough? You ruined my relationship with both my boyfriend and my best friend..." I didn't let him continue. I pinned him to the wall with my powers over the water and held him up there. "What are you...?"

"What I am doesn't matter. You're the one to have ruined everything for yourself. As for what I want?" I trailed off closing the distance between us. "I don't care what you'll do, but if you ever lay your eyes on the girl I love, you're a dead man." I said and punched him in the balls. "I'm not someone to be messed with. I may have prevented Melanie from killing you, but I will bury you to the ground myself, if she sheds one more tear because of your presence." I gripped his neck tightly. "And just so you know, I NEVER go back against my word or talk in vain. So your life is on your hands, asshole." I finished and walked out of the apartment without even making the effort to talk to John.

I got in Abby's car and immediately looked back at Melanie. She was still unconscious, but secure in the backseat, so I started the car. There was no way I'd drive her back to camp, because everyone would start asking question leading to answer that would make Melanie tear up once once more. People wouldn't know how to treat her. However they'd ask their questions, they'd sound so blunt to her and I couldn't let that happen. So instead, I headed to Amy's old apartment, which was still on my parents' name since they got it for her when she was in college.

I parked right outside and went to the back in order to lift Melanie up in my arms. With my keys in hand and Melanie clinging on me slowly regaining her consciousness, I walked in the building. She mumbled some incoherent stuff against my chest as I greeted the doorman and headed upstairs to the apartment. It wasn't the first time I came here. In fact not just me. The other six would often spend a night here, since it gave them some privacy and they could get out of our parents' supervision. So we all had a few clothes here and keys to it.

I laid Melanie on the bed and went to the kitchen to see if there was anything I could make for her. It seemed like someone had been there recently, because everything was stuffed to the hilt. I didn't need much though. Just a cup of tea. When it was made, I turned to go back to the bedroom. But for the second time today I was stopped and for the third I saw Nyx taking her form in front of me.

"How's she?" She asked cutting to the chase.

"She's unconscious right now, but things are bad." I said circling the top of the cup with my thumb. "Things are gonna be really bad when she wakes up. Not only did she hear about James, but Ricky also forced himself on her."

"I know Liam. That's why I saved you sometime. You're the only one that can help her thought this." She said with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"I know..." I trailed off nervously.

"Just go to her. She's calling for you." She said patting my back. I half-smiled and headed into the bedroom where a faint "Liam" came out of Melanie's mouth. I set the cup on the nightstand, before climbing on the bed and holding her close to me.

"I'm here, Mel." I whispered in her ear as her hand came to stroke my cheek.

"Where are we?" She mumbled against my neck.

"We're safe and away from everything." I answered and reached to the side. "Come one, baby. Sit up and drink some tea." I said helping her up. She drank a little before nestling back in my arms.

"Can we stay here?" She asked half-asleep already.

"We can, but wouldn't you like to change into something more comfortable?" I asked gently. She just nodded without answering. I helped her change into some of the girls' clothes and tucked in her in before going for the door.

"Where are you going?" She asked having sat up again making me go back to the bed.

"I'll just make a phone call." I said kissing her forehead.

"Please don't leave me." She whispered.

"I'm not leaving you. In a few minutes I'll be right back to wrap my arms around you." I replied and she nodded before lying back down. I got out of the room to make that call and kept it as quick as possible. I didn't tell mom where I was, even though I knew she'd soon figure it out anyway. All she needed to know was that Melanie and I were okay, physically at least, and that we would return some time in the next few days. When it was done and over with, I took my shirt and pants off snuggling close to my girlfriend who right away turned in my arms to bury her head in my chest and I wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

**(thought we'd stop here, but decided against it. Don't be too happy about it. You'll hate us in the end)**

**Next day**

We had arrived at Amy's old apartment in the evening and when I had snuggled close to Melanie, it was only 7pm, so I had spent the few hours just thinking over what happened in the previous hours. I had gone to the Elysium, been tempted to stay there, met Melanie's father, head about James's story, found my girlfriend almost being raped and miraculously didn't kill the guy. Out of everything, what made absolutely no sense was Ricky. If he was gay, why force himself on Melanie? Maybe he was bi. But then again, wasn't John enough for him? With questions like those buzzing my tireless mind, I drifted into a dreamless sleep, which lasted a good twelve hours, since when I woke up it was 11 am. Melanie was still asleep with her back against my chest and my arms loosely around her. The moment my grip tightened a bit, she shot up screaming.

"Let me go!" She screamed thrashing around.

"Mel... It's just me. Liam." I said releasing her. She looked back and when she realized it was me, she visibly calmed down and looked away in shame.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." I put my finger on her lips to stop her from talking.

"It's okay. Come here." I said opening my arms for her. She didn't take more than five seconds to find herself in my lap straddling me and put her head on my shoulder.

"Did any of that really happen?" She asked, her voice shaking which only meant that she was fighting back tears.

"What are you referring to?" I asked rubbing her back.

"My dad, Ricky, another guy, a glass table, everything..." She explained.

"I wish I could tell you it was just a bad dream, but I'd be lying." I whispered holding her close.

"My daddy..." She trailed off giving in to the tears.

"He loves you, Mel. He's always here with you. Always there for his little princess." I said repeating Jame's words.

"Did you see him?" She asked pulling back.

"I did. He's in the Elysium, baby girl, and he wanted you to know about what Ricky did. He made me give him my word that I'd tell you." I said putting my hands on either side of her face.

"How's he?" She asked seeming to have forgotten about anything else.

"He seemed good. When I saw him, he was dressed as a doctor, he couldn't stop grinning when he was talking about you or your mother, cried when he told me of his story and worried about you." I replied smiling. "He even told your mother that he liked me and understands why you love me. In front of me."

"I told you he'd love you." She said smiling and wiped away her tears, but more kept coming.

"You did." I smiled back.

"Was he alone when... he passed away?" She questioned.

"Nope. Your mother was there. The last thing James saw was your mother mouthing that she loved him. He died a happy man, baby." I said and she kissed me.

"You have no idea..." She pulled back and sniffed. "...how much it means to me...to know that..." She kept speaking and sniffing. "What else did you talk about?" She asked and I gave her a full report on every word that was exchanged between me and her father. How he wished he could there for our every stage of life in person, how he kept saying he loved her, his story, everything. After I was finished she put her head in my chest holding me by the waist.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm better..." She kissed my chest. "LJ, do you think that Hades would..." I knew what she meant instantly and it hurt me to say no.

"I don't think so, Mel. At least not yet. You're too vulnerable to go anywhere near the Elysian Fields. They're too alluring." I said kissing her head and heard her sigh.

"It was worth a try." She said breathing in deeply.

"It was. Do you want to get up and make something to eat?" I asked running my fingers over her arms lightly. Both our stomachs growled as if awakened by my question.

"I think you got your answer." She said giggling and got up. That was a good sign. Could talking about her father be so... healing? "Aren't you coming? I still don't know where we are after all."

"Sorry... I was just thinking..." I said getting to her. She just rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand leading me out of the room. After we got to the kitchen, we started on our breakfast, just some orange juice and pancakes, we prepared everything in silence. It was never an uncomfortable one between us, though. Some glances every now and then, some smiles...

Just like when we were preparing everything, no word was exchanged as we ate. I brought her hand in mine at some point, holding on it to provide her with some reassurance and she smiled before lifting our intertwined hands to her lips and kissing my knuckles softly, when the phone rang. They had realized where I had brought us sooner than I thought. I reached behind me for the phone without pulling our fingers apart and answered.

"You found us sooner than I thought." I expressed my previous thoughts to whoever had made the call.

"_I know my nephew pretty well, don't I?"_ Amy asked giggling.

"Yeah, you do." I simply said looking at Melanie.

"_How are you two?" _She asked worried.

"We're good, I guess. Do you know what's happened?" I asked rubbing Melanie's hand gently.

"_Nyx gave us a briefing. How's Mel?" _She questioned again.

"She seems good, Amy." I said looking at Melanie's smile wondering whether it was genuine or just a facade to keep me happy and not worried.

"_Okay, LJ."_ There was some fuss on the background. I could hear my sister, Abby and Amanda screaming but couldn't make out what they were saying. _"Liam, wait a second. Don't hang up." _

"Sure, Amy." I said and turned to Melanie.

"What's happening?" She asked taking her last bite with worry clouding her beautiful blue eyes.

"I don't know yet. She told me to wait." I said shrugging as Melanie, who had finished with her breakfast, got up and took her dish to the sink.

"_Liam?" _Amy asked snapping my attention back to her.

"Yeah, aunt Amy. I'm still here." I said staring at Melanie, or rather her ass, as she swayed from side to side. "What happened?"

"_Turn on your TV on ABC now!"_ She yelled in the speaker as I pulled it away from my ear.

"Baby, can you switch the TV on to ABC?" I asked since Melanie was right next to it. She did and the broadcaster's voice boomed in the room.

"_We're here, live, at the crime scene of a very vicious murder. Across from the north side of the Central Park, a gay couple was living their lives happily for over a year now according to their neighbors, so what made the 25-year-old murder his 18-year-old partner in such a monstrous way, details of which are not to be mentioned? What's the story behind Enrique Moreno's death? ..." _The broadcaster kept on but at the mention of Ricky's name, Melanie dropped the plate she was holding and it shattered into pieces some of which got in her leg.

"Shit, baby... Amy, I gotta go." I said hanging up and went to check on Melanie. With the help of the water, swept the glasses off the floor and knelt in front of her looking at her wounds.

"Ricky...is dead..." She trailed off and would have fallen back, hadn't I held on her by the waist.

"Mel, come sit here." I said and put her on the chair she was sitting before. Carefully, I extracted the pieces from her leg and reached to the cabinet with the meds for something to close up the fresh wounds. After cleaning them, I wrapped a bandage around her leg getting all the wounds before standing up and taking a seat next to her.

"Liam... Ricky's dead." She said grabbing my face. "I killed him. I killed a human." She said crying. Damn! She thought her beating him had killed him.

"No, no, no, Mel. When we left their house, Ricky was alive and had nothing serious." I said looking in her eyes. "You didn't kill him. I stopped you from that."

"But then...?" She trailed off crying, so I pulled her to me and she kept crying her eyes out against the skin of my neck.

"I don't know. But we can find out." I said and that's when the broadcaster caught my attention again.

"_The victim's boyfriend, who was also the culprit of this ferocious crime as previously said, admitted murdering his lover in that brutal way and has been taken to custody. He took full responsibility of his actions and even videotaped himself killing the young boy..." _He kept on about what the neighbors said and stuff, but I had everything I needed.

"We can go see John if you want and ask him..." I trailed off and for a moment Melanie's crying stopped before she pulled back to look at me.

"Who's John?" She asked fighting back the tears.

"John Trager is the guy you say yesterday evening at Ricky's place. The one who..." I trailed off not wanting to actually say it.

"Oh..." she breathed catching on.

"Yeah... We can go see him and ask why he did it. We know where he's been taken after all." I suggested again looking at her cautiously. I waited for a good ten minutes of Melanie contemplating before she gave me an answer.

"No. I don't want to know anything about that guy. I just wanna go home and cuddle up to you on our beach at night like we used to before the whole mess. I want our lives to go back to normal." She said sobbing harder than before against my chest. I pulled her in my lap and gave her the time to let it all out. I knew she couldn't have gotten over what happened yesterday so easily. She had to let everything out before slowly and gradually healed the wounds caused by the "whole mess".

"Let's go home now then. We can spend the day and night on our beach if you want." I suggested.

"Sounds good..." She muttered before pulling back from my neck and crashing her lips down on mine. "Can I have a shower first?" She asked against my lips before pulling back.

"Of course you can." I said and she got up heading for the bathroom.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked confused.

"Nah... I'll clean up a little here. Call me if you need anything though." I said and she nodded not bothering to close the door behind her. I cleaned up quickly and after I made sure she was in the shower I called the one Goddess I very often talked to since I find out about my prophecy: "Nyx." I whispered-yelled so that Mel wouldn't hear me.

"I know what you're gonna ask Liam." She said appearing in front of me. Thankfully I had gotten used to that after spending my entire life around the Gods.

"Then tell me. Did that piece of shit get sent into the depths of Tartarus?" I asked anyway.

"I didn't even need to ask Minos for that. When he saw what Ricky had done and how it was connected to you and me, he immediately send him to my brother." She said and the answer pleased me.

"His punishment?" I asked further.

"I don't know. I can't get in there, remember?" She asked and I nodded.

"At least we know he'll rot in hell." I said.

"We do. Oh and you don't need to worry about exposing yourself and Melanie to John Trager. His memories of that have been erased." She said and a weight was lifted off my shoulders. It had been bugging me all night the previous night.

"Thanks." I said sighing in relief.

"I have to go. She's getting out of the shower." She said and disappeared. I took the extra bandage from the cabinet and went to take care of my girlfriend. I changed her bandage and got something for her to wear while also getting dressed myself. Her shirt and pants were all so bloody from yesterday and of course wouldn't let her wear that, so instead I got her a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from the clothes Amy had left behind. She didn't want the tee, so asked if she could take one of my hoodies instead of anything my sister had. I doubt it was because she was cold, we were nearing May after all, but didn't question her request. Just obliged. When we were ready, I wrapped my arm around her as hers went behind my waist, we locked and went straight to Abby's car.

We were driving back to camp in silence again, but never an awkward one. Her hands, which never it out of my hoodies' sleeves, held on my right one tightly on her lap. Her lower lip was firmly between her teeth, her eyes were red and puffy due to the amount of tears that slipped from them the previous day, but still. Whenever she'd catch me stealing glances at her, she'd smile. Just to keep me happy.

I knew that her behavior this morning was just a facade. I could feel it. Especially after the news we got from the ABC. I also knew that sooner or later, she'd blow up from everything piling up for me. I was expecting the outrage, but I didn't know how it'd come. Cursing at everyone including me, trying to hurt people, snap at them.. etc, being some of the possible outcomes. The one that terrified me though, was another. A much more difficult to cope with: he attempting to commit suicide. The way she looked at me with longing when she asked if she could see her father and I had to answer negatively disappointed her and it was expected. But the brief light in her eyes when I added the "not yet" scared me. I was probably just being paranoid, but still afraid, which is why I didn't want to leave her out of my sight or arms.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I never noticed we had made it to camp until I saw Peleus come up in front of us. I stopped the car and opened the window with my free hand, sticking my head out so he could see me. He realized it was just me immediately and came to my side letting me rub in his big dragon head. A few strokes later I drove into camp heading to our houses and most specifically aunt Jenny's and uncle Travis's, so I could park Abby's car in its place. As I expected, everyone was already there with worried looks on their faces. Uncle Travis opened the garage door for me and after the car was in, Melanie and I got out. She didn't stay longer than thirty seconds our of my arms as we exited the garage

I knew people would try to give their condolences to Melanie for losing her friend if they hadn't been informed, so before anyone opened their mouths I shook my head at them and thankfully they realized I wanted them to keep their mouths shut. Alex, Abby and Amanda sure wanted to apologize for letting her go meet him, but I wouldn't have even that. They could talk to me when Melanie would be asleep with nothing to upset her.

"Ben, would you mind going to fetch my bike from the central park?" I asked him and he nodded so I threw him the keys. "We'll go down the beach if you don't mind." I said not giving them the chance to respond and walked towards the beach. With the current numbers of demigods the camp accommodated, it was impossible to avoid encountering some on the way to our destination. Her siblings, some children of Apollo, my grandmother, Aphrodite and Ares being among them. We didn't talk to them much though. Just a simple greetings before continuing our walk. When we reached the beach, there were some demigods fooling around, so we slowly moved to the far side where no one should be.

We sat down on the sand side by side. Our legs close to our chests, my arms resting on my knees, Melanie's arms around my right one, her head was against my shoulder and mine was lightly touching hers. Since the sea was so near I decided to do something that would hopefully make her smiled instead of depress her. Digging into my mind for that specific memory, I manipulated the water so that it resembled the person in my memory.

"Liam... What are you doing?" She spoke for the first time since going for that shower. My creation slowly made its way out of the sea and to us. She gasped.

"That's how I saw your father coming to me and Hades in the Elysium." I said and kissed her head gently.

"Exactly like that?" She asked and I nodded. "He looked so happy?" She questioned again.

"Happy for and proud of you." I whispered in her ear. Slowly, I let the water figure dissolve back to its original form. I laid back on the sand and pulled Melanie with me as the day gave its way to the night and the moon went up high in the sky. Melanie had her head and hand on my chest sighing often and snuggled close to me as much as possible.

"Liam...?" She mumbled against my chest.

"Yeah, baby?" I asked expecting her to continue. She looked up at me and stroked my cheek.

"I need to get out of here. I don't want to spend my life at camp." She whispered so low that I barely head.

"Okay, where do you wanna go?" I asked curious.

"Don't get me wrong. I love life at camp, but it's too much drama. Supernatural drama and I don't think I can handle it..." I cut her off by kissing her. She probably didn't hear my question before.

"Where do you wanna go?" I repeated.

"I was thinking of asking my aunt in Vermont if I could stay with her for a while and the I don't know." She said looking up at the sky.

"Whoa wait. Why would you want to go alone?" I asked sitting us up.

"You shouldn't stay away from your family. I don't know when or if I'll ever be back." She said looking away.

"What makes you think that I've been in hell and back, fought Tartarus, almost attempted to kill Zeus, almost killed Amy and Ares and lost our baby, just to give up now? Now that everything's over and I can lay back with you in my arms, spending each and every day of my life with you until one of us dies?" I asked hurt. She got up and away from me.

"I'm broken Liam. Our baby's death, finding out the truth behind my father's death, thinking I have killed a human... I could handle one of them at a time, but altogether..." She trailed off unable to continue because of the tears that ran down her cheeks.

"Mel, I'm here for you. I want and need to be here for you. You want to go to Vermont and then somewhere else? Fine. But I'm coming with you. I need you in my life, baby." I said wrapping my arms around her from behind. She melted in my touch like always, but she seemed a little reluctant.

"Liam..." She trailed off looking in the horizon.

"Either break up with me right now or you get stuck with me until i stop breathing. Take your pick now, Melanie Claire Carter." I said and she turned in my arms. She kissed me hungrily sucking on my lower lip with fervor before pulling back to look me in the eyes. What would i hear? Would she break up with me or accept having me in her life?

"Liam... I can't..."

**Now... I wonder how many of you will say the word "hate" if you review. Either followed by "you" or "Ricky". That should be fun. :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	35. 10 years

**Chapter 35: 10 years**

**10 years later**

**Liam's POV**

_**flashback**_

"_Liam... I can't..." Her voice broke mid-sentence and she started crying. She can't? What was that supposed to mean? I stood there fighting back my own tears at the thought of her breaking up with me. Each second that passed felt like an eternity as she went to dig her feet in the wet sand a little further in. She still hadn't explained what she meant and I kept freaking out. Was this the end of us?_

"_Will you just say what you mean?" I exclaimed unable to hold it in any longer. "What do you mean you can't? You can't what!"_

"_I don't want to put you through my problems..." She said and I felt a single tear ran down my cheek. "...but I can't stay away from you. I..." She would've kept on hadn't I ran to her, turned her around and crashed my lips down on hers._

"_Your problems are my problems too. In case you didn't notice, except your father and Ricky, everything else is my fault." I said and kissed her again as my hand went to the back of her neck holding her close to me. "If you were never with me, you wouldn't be in the middle of all the mess."_

"_But I also wouldn't have you." She muttered crying. "I don't want any other problems, Liam. We' have enough already." she said gesturing to herself._

"_We'll get through it. I promise." I said and for the first time that day, I saw her smile genuinely at me despite her tears._

* * *

We did get through it. After my life had been hell for a little while. We went away after that day. First to Vermont and her aunt, then to Spain. She had shown me where she grew up, where her father worked, where she used to play as a kid, where she went to school, everything. But we didn't quite enjoy it the first time because of her deep depression. She could wake up screaming at night, having had nightmares, she'd flinch at my touches if she didn't expect them, be wary at everything.

It was difficult but we overcame the obstacles and after a year or two she was fine. Back to the Melanie I met and fell in love with. Smiling at herself at random times, humming to herself, making jokes again, wanting to be around people and opening up to them rather than keeping it all to herself and be alone or with me. Generally enjoying life. I had missed that, but in time got it back.

Three years after the second Great War, us and the group decided to go on a trip to Greece. We were living in Spain during that, so we'd meet them there since they were coming from the US. Unlike the rest of us, Melanie had never had the chance to go to Greece, the original center of our civilization before Olympus and everything around it "moved" to the US.

Our first night there was spent at the hotel relaxing at the balcony and catching up with the others. On the third, though, Melanie and I went to the beach of Porto Rafti. The beach my parents, aunts and uncles would take us whenever we'd come to Greece. Like every time, my time there was magnificent.

* * *

**Flashback**

"_Wow... This beach looks so much like the one back at camp..." Melanie said spinning around with her shoes in hand on the white sand before she fell down at the edge of the beach laughing. Her feet were being touched by the water lightly. I threw something in the sea before I went to her with two glasses and a bottle of her favourite wine: a red from the Ribera del Duero._

"_I told you." I replied standing right above her._

"_Smart ass..." She said and stuck her tongue out at me before I sat next to her._

"_Hey don't mock me!" I said pouting at her._

"_Awwh, are you offended, baby?" She asked and kissed my lips making the pout disappear._

"_Not really. Pouting always gets me a kiss." I said with a smile of triumph as she nudged me playfully._

"_Will you give me some of that?" She asked gesturing to the bottle in my hand, but I didn't make any move to give her some._

"_If you ask nicely." I said and moved my hand away from reach. Instead of reaching for it though, she pushed me down on the sand and got on top of me. She leaned in as if to kiss me, but went to my ear._

"_Will you please purr me some wine, Liam?" She whispered, pulled my earlobe between her teeth biting on it lightly also grinding on me once._

"_That's unfair..." I trailed off groaning._

"_What's unfair, Mr Jackson?" She asked pulling back to look at me._

"_You know exactly what." I answered sitting us up again so she was straddling me. Her arms locked behind my neck as she looked me in the eyes pretending innocence. She smiled before leaning in and placing her lips on mine kissing me tenderly before pulling back._

"_Will you forgive me if I say I'm sorry?" She asked looking at me under her lashes._

"_You know I can't freaking resist you..." I whined scrunching my face and it was her turn to smile triumphantly._

"_So I'm forgiven?" I nodded in reply. "Which means you'll give me some of that amazing wine you have in your hand?" _

"_I guess I will." I answered and gave her the two glasses so as to open the bottle. The cork went flying somewhere and I finally purred wine in the glasses. Stacking the bottle firmly in the sand, Melanie gave me mine and we clinked our glasses before having a sip. She turned in my arms and put her head against my shoulder relishing my touch like I did hers. Like every time we were on a beach, I started playing with the water. Making patterns or people and reliving memories, letting the water touch us without actually getting us wet and feeling even more relaxed at the light touch of the sea._

_Melanie was looking up the night sky and the stars as always. Whenever she did that, I'd start finding the constellations and explain the story behind them, but despite her knowing all that, she just sat in my arms and listened to me talking. This time was no exception. I started with the constellation of our zodiac sign: the Pisces. After moving my hand along the way the twenty one stars that were forming our sign, I went on with the story of the two fish that had once saved Aphrodite and her son Coop from Typhon. _

_Our favourites were next. Mine was the first constellation my mom ever told me about: Perseus. That 6-main-star constellation had always caught our attention. Probably because of my dad, but it was still my favourite. I told her about the story of the great hero. How he slayed Medusa, took her head and by flying back to Seriphos on the Pegasus, he saved Andromeda from Cetus and married her. Melanie's favourite was Andromeda, but she never told me why so I asked._

"_Mel, how come this is your favourite constellation?" I whispered in her ear. "There's nothing so special about it."_

"_I know, but even though she didn't do much in her human life, but even after the end of her human life, she's still with the man she loves and everyone can see that in the sky. Just that." She said shrugging and took a sip before she turned her head to the side. "Just like I want to forever be with you." _That_ was the perfect moment. As our lips moved against each other, I used the water to retrieve what I had thrown in before I went to her. Slowly a little current of water brought the "missing" item to us just when we broke apart._

"_Will you marry me then, Melanie Claire Carter?" I asked and that's when she noticed the ring right next to her head. She looked at me in shock as I nodded smiling. Having been through so much together I doubted she'd say no. But after what she had just said, I was sure she would say yes, so I waited patiently for her to speak. She didn't speak though. She pushed me down causing both of our glasses to fall somewhere and crashed her lips down on mine. She placed her hands on my cheeks, pulled her head up and:_

"_Yes _(kiss)_, yes _(kiss)_, yes _(kiss)_, one hundred times yes _(kiss)_!" She kept saying and kissing me continuously. Sometime later I managed to slip the simple silver-blue ring on her finger. A marvelous night..._

* * *

And so Melanie and I were engaged. I truthfully thought nothing could go from the moment she said yes, but I was so wrong. The first wrong decision was to give in to Aphrodite's pleadings and let her plan the wedding. It turned out wonderful so I can't complain about that, but until we got to that point, I can honestly say there were many that absolutely hated the Goddess of love, including myself. She was bossing us around and whenever we complained she'd say: "Come on guys. It's the wedding of the year we're talking about. It needs to be perfect." Personally, the only reason I followed her orders was because I wanted it to be perfect for Melanie and since she trusted Aphrodite, I just sucked it up with a big smile and the thought of Melanie coming down the aisle.

The second wrong decision was to go back to camp until we got married. It gave everyone the chance to have something to do with the wedding. As if Aphrodite wasn't enough already. Aphrodite, mom and aunt Jenny along with several children of Aphrodite and grandma were the first to want to apply little changes here and there. Once, when Melanie and I were being _informed _ of how our wedding would be, they started fighting with each other so I had to yell at them to stop. It was _I _ that informed them that the wedding would be exactly like Melanie wanted it and if they had a problem with that they could go do something else. After much pouting, they agreed and we found the peace with that. But Aphrodite was still a problem.

But despite my whining, the wedding was indeed amazing. The ceremony took place where everything started for us: the camp's beach. Like in every other wedding at camp all the Gods were invited, but ours had the difference that even though Zeus was also invited, if he went anywhere near us, I could lose control and attack him, which is why neither he nor Hera, as his wife, attended. After much pleading, Hades allowed James Carter to be there even in spirit for a few minutes. It had touched Melanie deeply and that was one of the time I was thankful for having the Lord of the Underworld on my side.

The theme of your wedding was of course the usual silver-blue, only the blue was a little darker so as to resemble the color of the night sky, in honor of Nyx. I was in a dark blue tux and Melanie in the traditional white. Blue and white lilies scattered everywhere on that beach and surrounded the two poles that formed the altar. Seats all over the custom platform made by Hephaestus and his children so the guests could sit properly.

Another difference from the other demigod weddings was as to who performed the ceremony. It of course wasn't Zeus for obvious reasons. In fact after what he did was heard, no one had asked him to do that. Instead we had my grandfather perform it. Despite him not having a substantial form, James was the one to walk Melanie down the aisle to meet a grinning me at the end of it.

A little over half an hour after that I could finally call Melanie my wife and Mrs Jackson. The party was held at the pavilion, where dancing, drinking, eating and laughing were the main activities. I'm sure I danced with each and every female attendant, down to the youngest camper, just like Melanie danced with all the males, even three-year-old David.

Half-way through the party, feeling exhausted and blissful, we went to the airport in order to board the plane to our honeymoon destination: Florida. Melanie wanted to go there so I couldn't not do as my wife wanted. When we returned a surprise suggestion which determined our life was made by our friends/siblings.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"_Come on, Liam! It's the perfect idea." Alex pushed me._

"_This is a CRAZY idea. Not perfect." I yelled at them._

"_Why is it a crazy idea, LJ?" Abby questioned raising her eyebrows. How couldn't they see any reason?_

"_Um.. let's see... First, we have no degrees, so why would anyone trust us with designing their house or whatever? Second, it would mean that Mel and I stayed here and I don't know if she wants something like that. Third, I'm out of reasons." I said frowning._

"_To solve your first _problem..._" Alex trailed off and looked towards my parents where Melanie was. "Hey... Young Mrs Jackson, being your cute butt over here please." I could help but chuckle at my sister's words along with Abby and Amanda. Meanie smiled and came to us shaking her head._

"_What can I do for you, Alex?" She asked kissing my cheek before she wrapped her arms around my waist possessively. I loved it._

"_Just answer a little question. Would you be interested in staying in New York?" Alex asked seriously._

"_It depends, I guess. What do you have in mind?" My wife asked._

"_We just suggested that we open a little firm but Liam here seems reluctant!" Amanda whined._

"_It just can't be done, girls." I said once again._

"_Shh, Liam. What kind of firm?" Melanie questioned after shh-ing me._

"_Well, since all four of us enjoy and are great at designing building and all kind of stuff being grandchildren of Athena, we though we could all become architects and open our own little firm." Abby announced proudly._

"_That way we could all have a life away from the supernatural." Amanda filled in._

"_Sounds really good, but don't you think you need a degree for that?" Mel asked._

"_Finally! That's what I've been saying..." I exclaimed._

"_Once people see our designs a small, stupid piece of paper won't matter." Alex scoffed._

"_Besides we know more about architecture than the freaking professors." Amanda whined again._

"_Okay..." Melanie trailed off. "What about the license to open it in the first place?" _

"_Our moms can help with that. Since they have a degrees so that the firm is opened and then we can run it." Amanda quickly replied. Melanie seemed to think about it and then again turned to the girls._

"_What about me and the guys then?" Good point..._

"_We were thinking of taking over mom's martial arts/boxing school. It's a family business after all." Ben said coming out of nowhere up behind Alex and snicked his arms around her._

"_Yap. Not to mention that it's quite profitable." Owen added doing the same to Abby._

"_And Mike?" I asked glaring at the Rodriguez brothers. Even they were siding with the girls...?_

"_Mikey!" Amanda yelled towards a group of campers and Mike came to us soon after._

"_What happened guys?" he asked raising his eyebrows._

"_We just told them of the idea and they have found many obstacles to that like what you're gonna do.." Amanda said rubbing his chin._

"_Ah... Well, I was thinking of helping the guys with the school and all." He said shrugging._

"_You've really thought over everything, haven't you?" Melanie asked. Why did I feel like she was agreeing with this?_

"_Yap and you could always help at the office so you two can be together all day." Alex announced proudly once again._

"_And what will the name of this firm be?" Melanie questioned and my eyes went wide._

"_You can't seriously be considering this.." I exclaimed._

"_Why not, Liam? It sounds really nice." She said looking at me under her lashes. Damn! She knew this was working._

"_Because it's crazy. Didn't you also say you wanted to be away from everything?" I asked._

"_Everything supernatural. A family business like this one isn't supernatural. Well, if you exclude us, it's not. But why not do it? We can stay close to our family and have a life away from camp." She said turning in my arms and started rubbing my chest with a pout on her face while the other six behind her were smirking._

"_Fine. Fine. But stop pouting." I said and received a kiss._

* * *

That's how JRD was born. Jackson, Rodriguez and Di' Angelo. The girls said that since they would be getting married to the guys there was no point in starting a firm with their maiden names only to change them later. The first year was kind of rough with almost none projects in store, but with uncle Malcolm's connections we were assigned a big one. Abby, Alex, Amanda and I worked on the presentation for two weeks straight and when the time came, the people concerned were so impressed that they assigned it to us. We didn't screw up that chance and after that, the firm picked up its pace of expanding.

Only four years after its creation, JRD was one the most successful architecture firms in the US. We started receiving internship applications from college students or people that had just graduated. Then, the need for more staff and room occurred so we could successfully complete our projects in the time needed. So seven years have been since its opening and JRD's offices occupy an entire five-story building with the offices of mine, Alex's, Abby's and Amanda's being on the top floor.

Amanda and I were the ones to actually run the company most, because the other girls also had their kids to look after. Alex and Ben had one-year-old Clay, while Abby and Owen had two-year-old Joey. They'd stay home, working from there, or at times they would bring them in when their presence was vital due to important projects or meeting. When that happened, the entire floor would go berserk. The kids were cute and no one had a problem keeping them while we had our meetings. Like the one I was having in that moment.

"So, does everyone understand what we're presenting tomorrow?" I asked just as the intercom rang. "Give me a minute, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, Taylor?" I asked a little impatiently.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Leila is here." My assistant said and my eyes went wide. Damn! I hadn't noticed time had gone by so quickly. "Mr Jackson?"

"Send her to my office." I answered and everyone in the room chuckled as I shook my head. "As I was saying before that little interruption, do we understand what we have to present?" I asked everyone.

"We do understand what _WE _ have to present Mr Jackson. But _YOU _will be having fun with your parents. Right sir?" Malcolm said. He had been the firm's CEO for two year now, but no one actually knew he was my uncle, so since we wanted to keep it that way to avoid explanations and stuff, he had to address me formally.

"Yes, Malcolm. Thank you for reminding me." I said chuckling.

"Of course, Liam." He said nodding.

"If there aren't any questions, I'm guessing we're done?" I asked and everyone nodded starting to get up. Malcolm came to me.

"Don't worry about the Chinese. We're get the deal easily. Your designs are amazing after all." He encouraged me patting my back.

"Thank, uncle." I said smiling.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be?" He asked and I nodded. "Tell my sisters I say hi, okay?" He said.

"Will do, uncle." I said and walked towards my office. "Is she in, Taylor?" I asked.

"Yes, Mr Jackson." She said standing up from her seat to greet me.

"You can sit back down, Taylor. Thank you." I said and headed for the door, but stopped before getting in my office. "You've canceled all my appointments for today, tomorrow and the weekend, right?"

"Yes, Mr Jackson." She said and I nodded before going inside, but Leila was nowhere to be found. Or that's what she wanted me to believe. I looked around , shrugged and went to sit in my chair comfortably. I was going over some contracts on my desk when I was splashed in the face with water and a little squeal was heard just as Leila crawled up on my lap.

"Haven't we said that you shouldn't use your powers in the office?" I cautioned drying my face and everything her little stunt had got wet.

"Sorry, daddy." She apologized looking down. Leila Ann Jackson was mine and Melanie's four-year-old daughter. She looked so much like her mother, having black hair, a cute little nose, pink puffy lips and the exact same shape of Melanie's eyes. The only link she had to me when it came to her appearance was that bright sea-green pair of eyes. We named her as such in honor of our mothers. Ann for my mother and Leila for Nyx. Leila did mean night in Latin after all.

"It's okay, sweetheart. Just make sure no one watches when you do it. Especially your mom." I said winking and she kissed me on the cheek giggling. "Where's she?"

"She's with auntie Alex and in her office." She said in her little childish voice I loved.

"How about we go see what they're talking about?" I suggested and she nodded furiously.

"Can I get on your shoulders?" She asked sucking on her thumb. Why do they have to know how to get to me..?

"Sure. Get on." I said and picked her placing her on my shoulders. I got up and walked to the door holding on her little feet so she didn't fall. "Watch your head." I said even though I knew there was no way she could bump her head against the door. Taylor started chuckling when she saw us, but I kept on walking till I reached my sister's door. "Knock on the door kiddo."

"Okay." she said before banging on the door repeatedly laughing.

"Come in, Leila." We heard my sister say and walked in to find her sitting on one of the chairs while Melanie was on the other with Clay in her lap.

"I see you're done with your meeting..." Alex trailed off.

"Yeah. Like I said: you didn't need to come in today." I said and placed Leila on her feet before going to Mel and kissing her.

"Well, I had to. Somebody had to look after Leila while you're out. Besides Ben has one more lesson before being through." She replied smiling.

"Fine by me. Hey there big guy." I said picking my nephew up. He was a miniature of his father. Brown hair, green eyes and dimples.

"And I was just telling Alex that they shouldn't wait for us since we don't know when we'll be done." Melanie said as I played with my nephew a little.

"What about Leila?" I asked.

"We can take her with us. You have her things and yours in the car, so we'll just be carrying this little body..." Alex said tickling Leila. I still didn't feel comfortable with that.

"No one's taking her away, Liam." Melanie said rolling her eyes.

"I'm your sister for Gods' sake. If you don't trust me with your daughter who would you trust her with?" Alex asked as Leila went out the office.

"No one?" I wanted to say but it came out as a question.

"Don't mind him. Are you sure you're gonna be okay with the two of them?" Melanie asked getting up.

"I'll be fine. Clay needs to sleep after all, so it'll be just me and Leila playing something till Ben comes. We'll be fine." Alex said as Clay reached for her. "Now give me my son, get your suit jacket, keys and phone, take your wife's hand and go."

"Here's your son and I'll first take my wife's hand before doing the rest." I said offering Melanie my hand.

"How can you be so childish even at 28 and 30?" She asked giggling.

"Because we're awesome." We said in unison and high-fived each other.

"Sure, sure." Melanie said and kissed my cheek lightly. "Now let's go or we're gonna be late." She dragged me out of Alex's office and I was tackled by Leila before I picked her up. Thankfully I didn't fall down. Just got shaken up a little.

"Bye daddy." She said kissing my cheek and reached for her mother. "Bye mommy."

"We'll see you in a few hours, honey. Be good, okay?" Mel said placing her lips against Leila's cheek swiftly as she nodded. "And don't use your powers before reaching camp, missy." She whispered in our daughter's ear so no one would hear.

"I know mom." Leila said rolling her eyes and I chuckled.

"Go to your aunt." I said letting her down and she ran to Alex's office again squealing. "Let me grab my jacket and keys and we'll go, okay?"

"Hurry, mister. We're gonna be late." Melanie said and I hurriedly got in my office, took my jacket and lead my beautiful wife to our car.

**You didn't really expect that after 34 chapters, we'd break them up like that, did you? We may love twists, but that would be outrageous! Anyway, what do you think? :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	36. Fluff

**After kind of request of Amanda, this chapter is being posted now and I hope you enjoy it. All yours :)**

**Chapter 36: Fluff**

**Liam's POV**

"When do we have to be there?" I asked Melanie when we got in the car.

"Technically in ten minutes, but I called and informed them we;d be a little late since I didn't know if you'd finish your meeting in time." She said and buckled her seat-belt. "You can calm down, baby. You've taken care of everything." She started rubbing my shoulder soothingly.

"Are you sure I have?" I asked doing a mental check on everything.

"I'm sure. You called your parents to prepare your bedroom for us and Alex's for Leila, took care of Clay's birthday present, let your team know how they should proceed with the meeting tomorrow and now you have to calm down a little." She practically ordered.

"What about Leila?" I asked.

"She's with her aunt, Liam. Nothing's gonna happen to her." She said giggling.

"Yeah, but I haven't seen her all day." I whined.

"We were shopping and you were in a meeting, goof. You'll have her all to yourself in a few hours." Mel said stroking my cheek lovingly.

"I won't and you know that. Mom and dad will want to see her. Your mom too. And I'm sure she'd rather ran around using her powers freely than being with us." The reality of that appealed to neither of us, but it was the truth and no matter how much she didn't want to seem bothered by that, I could see it. She minded as much as I did.

"How about we let her sneak in our bed tonight? That way we can have her in between us for a few hours." Mel suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea." I said grinning.

"There's the smile." She exclaimed and brought my hand to her lips. "Now drive faster. I wanna go back to my baby girl as soon as possible." She said.

"So now you wanna go back to your baby girl, huh?" I asked chuckling and she nudged me.

"Oh shut up and drive." She said shaking her head. Five minutes later we reached out destination, parked the car and went up to the second floor like we had done a few other times. We went to the front desk where a young girl, who we hadn't seen before, was.

"Welcome to Dr Matthews's practice. Do you have an appointment?" the girl asked taking her eyes off her screen to look at us.

"Yes, we do. We actually called a little earlier saying we'd be a little late." Melanie said and the girl looked down at her computer again.

"Under what name was your appointment?" She asked.

"Liam! Melanie!" Dr Matthews exclaimed at the same time Mel replied with a "Jackson" to the girl. "It's okay, Samantha. I've been expecting these two. Come on in." He motioned us forward and after thanking "Samantha, we went inside the examination room.

"How are you, George?" I asked shaking his hand as Melanie lied down on the bed.

"Good, good. How's business?" He asked getting his gloves on.

"Pretty good. We'll probably land a big one tomorrow." I would've kept on, hadn't it been for Melanie clearing her throat.

"That's not why we're here. You two can talk about your business over the phone." She said rolling her eyes.

"Oh but of course. Let's get down to _this _business then, shall we?" He asked and we nodded. "How have you been these two weeks, Mel?"

"I've been fine, George. The usual cravings, often visits to the bathroom, horniness..." She trailed off giggling. "Oh and the baby is quite active."

"That's all natural. Hey daddy, have you been satisfying your wife's needs?" George joked winking at me.

"Sufficiently I think. Right, baby?" I asked Mel.

"George may have looked down there, but I'm not discussing our sex life with him." She said seriously causing both me and George to chuckle.

"Now, that we've cleared this... Do you guys still want to know the sex of the baby Maybe you want to wait till he/she is born like with Leila? You're already five months along so the wait isn't long now..." George said spreading some of the gel-like thing on Melanie's bump.

"We told you last time that we do want to know, George." Mel said rubbing my arm.

"In that case, I'd rather show you. I already know obviously, so..." He said and put the transducer on her belly. After checking a few things for himself, he told us to look at the screen closely. "See these? These are your baby's feet and between them..." he trailed off.

"So we're having a boy?" Melanie asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yap. Right underneath this skin, your son, who is quite a kicker might I add, is safely growing at a healthy pace." He confirmed smiling.

"Now I know what to paint his room like." I said grinning like a fool and kissed Melanie while George wiped off the gel. When Melanie's belly was clean, I also placed a kiss on top of it. "Any other tests you want to run, George?" I asked straightening up.

"Not really. I just wanted to make sure Mrs Independent here didn't do anything stupid." He answered looking at Mel closely. When she was pregnant with Leila, she was exaggerating a little. Doing stuff that exhausted her and almost made her miscarry again, which resulted in her staying home after she entered her second trimester and I wouldn't leave her side. Thankfully both Mel and Leila were fine and the girls did fine with the firm during my absence.

"So we're good to go?" She asked uncomfortably.

"You are. Just don't do anything that would endanger this little guy's life." George warned pointing his index in her face.

"I won't, don't worry." She said and got up from the table.

"I hope there will be no need to worry." He said with a sincere warm smile playing on his lips. "How come Leila didn't come with you this time?"

"She didn't want to. Since she's afraid of the doctors and all. " I answered.

"Plus we told her that you wouldn't tell us if she's having a baby brother or sister, so she wasn't at all interested to overcome her fear." Mel added.

"Oh I see... Well, I'd love to chat, but I have other appointments as well so I must excuse myself." George said smiling.

"No problem, George. We'll see you next time." Mel said coming to wrap her arms around my waist and I draped one arm over her shoulders.

"You will. Liam, we'll talk about business sometime next week, okay?" He asked shaking both mine and Melanie's hand. She looked confused but didn't say anything on his comment in that moment.

"We will. I'll be back in the office Monday morning, so from then on you can call me anytime you want." I said as he walked us to the front desk.

"Good, good. Just don't forget to arrange your next appointment. Samantha, their next appointment must be in about two to three weeks, so help them find a suitable date." He instructed his secretary and turned back towards the examination room. "Nice seeing you, guys." After that, we just did as told, booking date and time for our next appointment, before leaving and going to our care. Since everything we needed for the next day, Saturday and Sunday had already been loaded to the car, I didn't waste any time before driving towards camp.

Camp was much different than what it used to be ten years ago. While in the time I was growing up all stories revolved around my parents' and their friends' quests and accomplishments, everything the youngsters were told was about me. My training with all Gods, going into Tartarus and defeating him in the end, how despite my size I killed the two Hecatonchires, how I overpowered three titans and everything. The Hephaestus kids had also forged a replica of my shield and sword which was put on display in the Big House along with other great gear of other demigods. Like my dad's sword, Riptide, my mom's cap, aunt Thalia's shield, Aegis, aunt Clarisse's spear, mom's little dagger, the cursed blade that temporarily stopped Kronos from overthrowing the Gods and many other.

My parents would hardly ever use their fighting skill since they had grown old (53 for a demigod is old), but they still taught the campers. Other demigods took up my parents' previous responsibilities and heavy physical training classes. The camp facilities kept growing in size, more and more cabins were built or expanded to accommodate everyone new. Some were even designed by me or the girls. Melanie was obviously no longer the head of Nyx;s cabin having dropped that right and moved out of camp with me. Chiron formed the council of teachers which basically consisted of my parents, aunts and uncles and lastly Dionysus seemed to be ecstatic, because his punishment had almost come to an end and he could return to Olympus and his drunken days. The only part of camp that remained intact through all these years was its guardian: Peleus. No matter how many years passed, he'd still be there keeping the camp safe from monsters and scaring the crap out of demigods, who approached the entrance, like Melanie and me just then.

"Down boy... It's just us." I said out the window and he moved out of the way, so we could enter camp. It didn't take much time for our car to join the other three in front of the four lonely houses of the family. First to come out was my mother, of course, followed by dad, Clarisse and Chris. She went straight to Mel's side just like everyone else. Hugs and greeting took place, but I still couldn't see my little girl anywhere despite the fact that Alex was here.

"Hey Alex, where's Leila?" I asked right after she hugged Melanie.

"She's gone off to play with some other kids." She answered.

"What kids?" I questioned and my parents chuckled.

"She's four and more powerful than any other kid her age here, Liam. Nothing gonna happen to her." My mom said and Mel nodded agreeing.

"Plus, I don't think there's anyone in this world that would like to mess with YOUR daughter." Travis added from one of the couches. I scrunched my face realizing no one would back me up on this one.

"I'm going for a walk if you don't mind." I said kissing Melanie's temple before getting up from the couch.

"Just don't ruin it for her..." Melanie trailed off and everyone nodded glaring.

"I'd never. I'm just taking a walk down the beach." I said shrugging.

"Right..." Everyone said. Were my intentions that obvious?

I went around the camp trying to find Leila, but there was no sign of her. I reached the beach and still not even a clue as to where she could be. Looking into the ocean I couldn't resist the temptation of the water. It had been way too long since I had last found myself completely submerged in the bottom of the ocean. I removed my shirt and pants, staying in my boxers and dove in without second thought. Every cell in my body felt like being rejuvenated, my mind calm and clear could process anything with great easiness, planning the designs of some upcoming projects too. But all that was interrupted when Leila appeared in front of me, said a "Boo!" scaring the crap out of me and became invisible again. Some of my grandfather's children were around as well. That's why I couldn't find her...

"Leila...?" I asked pretending not to know where she was and swam her way. She tried avoiding me and I let her, but right when I passed next to her, I reached to the side and wrapped my arms around her as she started squealing. "There's the little monster..."

"Daddy, let me go!" She squealed between giggles. "Stop tickling me."

"Why should I? It's fun." I said and kept on.

"Guys, help!" She requested and the five kids she was previously playing with literally attacked me, getting on my back, tickling me and somewhat using their powers on me. But when a slight growl was heard and they saw the creature behind me, they all scattered around leaving me with the creature and Leila, who snuggled close to me in fear.

"What are you doing here?" I asked chuckling and moved towards the creature. The closer I got to it, the harder Leila's grip on my arm was. I guess she was really afraid. "It's okay Leila. He won't hurt you."

"There you are!" My uncle Triton said swimming towards us in a hurry. "Liam, how are you, kid?" He asked taking a hold of the chain around the creature's neck. "I'm guessing this is the famous, Leila?"

"Yap. Leila, this is Triton. Uncle, this is my daughter, Leila." I introduced them. Since my uncle couldn't get out of the sea and Leila had still been too young to go into these depths, they had never met until then. This was the first time, she was in such deep waters after all.

"You look a lot like your mother, Leila." He said reaching his hand out but she couldn't move a muscle.

"The Ophiotaurus won't hurt you. He may seem big and scary, but he won't hurt you, princess." I said. I had many times been taken to see him up in the special aquarium on Olympus when I was little, since my dad often visited him. But after the second Great War we hardly ever stepped our feet on Olympus. Only when our presence was absolutely essential. So my grandfather released Benny (dad decided to change his name after finding out he was male) to the care of Triton and Tyson. And he obviously had escaped from my uncle.

"This is Benny?" She asked and finally did give Triton her hand. "The one who helped grandpa on a quest?"

"The one and only" My uncle confirmed.

"We have to tell grandpa that Benny is here then!" She squealed.

"There's no need to. Percy came to see him earlier today, which is why Benny ran away. He wanted some more time with him." Triton said chuckling.

"Can I play with him?" She asked looking at me in the eye.

"First you're afraid of him and now you want to play?" I asked and she nodded. "Go then?" She squealed once again and jumped on Benny's back while he wagged his serpent tail happily as if he was a dog. They swam away from us but were also close enough so I could see them and started playing.

"How have you been, kid?" Triton asked me watching them play.

"I've been god, Working, being with my wife and daughter, staying away from monsters. That kind of stuff." I answered shrugging.

"She seems to be amazing." He commented.

"She is... and so much like here mother." I added grinning.

"I can definitely see that." He said chuckling.

"Not just in appearance, Triton. They're so much alike..." I trailed off.

" I can give you one big difference though. Leila will always have her parents there for her in person." He said smiling.

"You can't know that." I said even though I hoped he was right."

"I can. Liam Kai Jackson is her father. Not even Tartarus himself was able to defeat you. No one has and I don't think you'll let anything happen to her mother." He said in determination.

"Thank, uncle. It really means a lot..." I trailed off checking the time. "Leila, come on. We have to get back." I called and despite the sad face, she swam my way with Benny on her tail.

"Do we really have to go back?" She asked pouting.

"You know we do. It's late and you need to eat something before going to bed." I said and looked at Triton who instantly got the hint.

"Well, we need to go anyway. The palace needs us." He said dragging Benny by the collar. "It was an honor meeting you Leila Ann Jackson." He extended his hand and this time she gave him hers without hesitating. He bowed in front of her and kissed the back of it.

"You too." she said blushing just like Melanie had when Triton did the same to here when she first met him.

"I can see what you meant." He said chuckling. "By, kids."

"See you later, Triton." I said waving at him as Leila snuggled close to my chest. "How about we go home?"

"Mmhmm..." She mumbled yawning. I held her close and resurfaced going for my clothes. I set her down for a little while to quickly get dressed, but that seemed to wake her up a little, before scooping her back up and went to the pavilion and my old table, where my wife and friends were sitting.

"Where have you two been?" Melanie asked as our daughter reached for her.

"We just took a swim." I said and kissed her.

"We saw Benny and Triton!" Leila mumbled stuffing food in her mouth.

"You took her so deep?" Alex asked surprised.

"I didn't. I just went for a swim and this little monster scared me." I said pointing at Leila.

"Then daddy grabbed me and the other kids I was playing with came to help me. But then Benny came and they were too afraid to stay." She said pouting. "I was too, but daddy was there.

"Benny is a little scary, sweetie. It's only natural for people to be afraid of him if they don't know him. I was too the first time I saw him." Melanie said pulling our daughter's hair behind her ears.

"How are the preparations for Clay's party going?" I asked looking at Ben and Alex.

"Everything is going fine. His birthday will be perfect, Liam. Nothing to worry about." Alex reassured me.

"If you say so..." I trailed off.

After she was done eating, Leila crawled up in my lap and fell asleep, something which many found cute of course. Especially when she put her little thumb in her mouth sucking on it as a pacifier. We fooled around a bit with the Gods, our parents and friends, before each couple retreated to their appointed room. So Mel and I took our sleeping daughter and went to my old room, where we changed and just snuggled close. Leila was lying on my chest and Mel had cuddled up to my side careful not to disturb our son, who had been quite active the past few days. I don't know if it was because Mel entered her fifth month or because of the kid itself. Leila had hardly ever kicked while Melanie was pregnant with her, but our son wouldn't stop lately.

"Liam?" Melanie brought me out of my thoughts rubbing my cheek. "What are you thinking about, baby?"

"About our baby." I said and kissed her head.

"Which one and what about it?" She asked concerned.

"Don't you think he needs a name not that we know the gender?" I asked. "And we also need to tell everyone, don't we?"

"We should and he definitely does." Melanie said looking at the sleeping angel on my chest. Like every other offspring of Nyx, Leila seemed more at ease in the night whether she was asleep or not. She looked peaceful. Like when she was in the water.

"Have you thought of anything?" I asked also looking at our baby girl.

"Not really. Have you?" She questioned.

"Well, I have. Four years ago, actually." I answered sheepishly.

"When I was pregnant with Leila?" She asked and I nodded. "So you wanted a boy in the beginning?"

"No. I just thought that if it was a boy, that should be his name." I answered sheepishly again.

"So... what is it?" She asked smiling.

"Well, it's James. I think we should call him James." I said and expected her to turn sad and gloomy, but instead a few tears slipped her eyes and she grinned at me.

"You really think so?" She asked and turned so she could fully kiss me.

"Your reaction just confirmed that she should name him like that." I said smiling down at her.

"But what about your dad? Shouldn't the great hero of Olympus at least have his grandson names after him?" She asked.

"Mel, he's my dad first and a hero second. He wouldn't have a problem." I answered, the grin never leaving my face.

"Then can't we include him in the name? Like we did with your mother and Leila? Call him James Perseus Jackson for example?" She asked looking for confirmation in both my eyes and words.

"It does sound nice..." I answered.

"So it's a keeper?" she questioned.

"It's a keeper." I confirmed and kissed her.

"James or Jamie Jackson. I like it." She said.

"So do I, but shouldn't we sleep?" It's Clay's first birthday after all and I don't think my sister would like us crawling on the floor from exhaustion." I suggested.

"I guess we should. Good night, Liam." She said kissing me once more.

"Good night Mel." I said back and pulled her closer to me before we both fell asleep.

**I hope you like the chapter and this new version of Liam :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	37. Party Day

**Chapter 37: Party day**

**Melanie's POV**

When I woke up, Leila had snuggled between her father and me while all our hands were resting on top of my stomach, careful not to disturb our little James. She had her other hand close to her mouth, something that let her thumb slip between her lips making her finger a pacifier. Liam on the other hand, had a wide grin playing on his lips as his fingers moved across the skin of my bell under my nightshirt.

Trying to avoid waking them up, I carefully got off the bed and waited to see what their reaction would be. Instead of waking up when their hands left my stomach, they just snuggled together and kept on with their sleep. Leila turned toward her daddy, as he wrapped his arms around her, and she changed thumbs before sighing in content. I loved watching them like that. It happened every Saturday when Liam didn't have to be at the office.

I observed them for a few moments, like I always did, before the bathroom literally called to me and I had to go. Freshening up and changing was next and then I finally went downstairs where I found Annabeth and Percy sitting in the kitchen lazily drinking their coffee.

"Good morning." I greeted kissing Percy's cheek before going to Annabeth to do the same. They had grown to be my parents, but not just because I was married to their son. They stood by me even before I met Liam. When I first came to Camp Half-Blood chased by those dracaenae. They were there through my training, through everything. So I did consider them my parents.

"Good morning to you too, Mel." Percy said looking up from his newspaper. How could sports catch the interest of this great hero was beyond me.

"The other two are still sleeping?" Annabeth asked offering me a seat and went to serve me some breakfast. I guessed we wouldn't have our breakfast in the pavilion today.

"They always sleep a little more whenever Liam is home late in the mornings." I said right when Annabeth presented me with a plate full of blue pancakes, a recipe of Percy's mom.

"Does that remind you of anyone, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked giggling while Percy straightened his glasses.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Wise Girl." He replied seriously. Even after so many years of them being together, calling each other those little nicknames came so natural and right that it honestly amazed me.

"In case you didn't know, Mel, your father-in-law here, after Alex was born for a good three or four years would be exactly like that with his little girl." Annabeth said and looking at Percy for confirmation I saw him blushing.

"So it's a father-daughter thing?" I asked unsure. My dad never did that to me, but then again, he was always on call.

"Or a Jackson-father-daughter thing." She replied winking at me.

"When do you think they'll be up? The last touches to the party have to start soon." Percy said uncomfortable never averting his eyes from the newspaper.

"I don't know. Normally they're up by ten. What time is it now?" I asked with my mouth full.

"Almost ten.?" Annabeth replied.

"Then they'll be up in a few." I paused to take another bite. "If not, I'll just wake them up." As if on queue, the scream of Leila echoed around the house shaking us up. Annabeth and Percy, who hadn't previously experienced that, shot up drawing their weapons in incredible speed for 53-year-olds and looked up worried.

"What the hell was that? Why is she screaming." Annabeth asked and they both made a move to go upstairs, but I stopped them.

"She's screaming because he probably tickled her or something. She's just a loud one." I said and they visibly calmed down. I couldn't blame them for getting worried, because it was the first time we spent in a years and my goofs started acting like that only a few months ago. Previously they'd just cuddle up close and keep sleeping till I woke them up with breakfast not giving them any chance to act like that.

"Are they always like this?" Percy asked turning Riptide back into a pen and put it in his pocket.

"They have been for the past few months." I answered as we heard the light footsteps down the stairs before Annabeth was nearly knocked out of the chair she was sitting in.

"Good morning, Leila." We said hearing her pants and heavy breathing while Annabeth wrapped her arms around her invisible granddaughter. Some short seconds later she turned herself visible again though.

"Where's your dad sweetie?" Annabeth asked ruffling Leila's hair a little.

"He was after me..." She trailed off looking at the door probably expecting Liam to pop out or something. "He was tickling me..." She said pouting. Anyone used to it, like me, wasn't affected by it, but Annabeth caved...

"Awwh... want me to scold him when he comes?" She asked smiling down at the little child. Leila had everyone wrapped around her little finger so much, one could say she was an offspring of Aphrodite.

"Yeah. I couldn't breathe from laughing, grandma." She said bringing her hands to her neck. Percy and Annabeth were too enchanted to notice how her eyes beamed.

"LIAM!" Percy yelled and i couldn't help but giggle. My husband walked into the kitchen a few seconds later in some shorts and a white t-shirt.

"Yeah dad?" He asked walking over to me so he could kiss me.

"Why were you tickling Leila?" Percy asked seriously. I was having way too much fun to interrupt this little dialogue.

"I didn't know I'm not allowed to tickle my own daughter." Liam said raising his eyebrows.

"She couldn't breathe from laughing though." Annabeth added as our mischievous daughter smirked and Liam rolled his eyes. I decided to save him then.

"Leila, sweetheart, what did you do before daddy started tickling you?" I asked and she gasped.

"I was trying to wake him up." She said in a low voice.

"How were you doing that?" I questioned and she blushed.

"I might have splashed him with water." She answered and her grandparents gasped realizing how they got fooled at by my little girl.

"Just might?" Annabeth asked nudging her.

"Just might." She confirmed smiling widely. I didn't pay any more attention to them because my husband sat in the chair next to mine wrapping his arms around me.

"Thanks for saving me from my enchanted parents." He whispered in my ear kissing right behind it which of course made me shiver like always.

"Don't mention it, baby." I said and turned my head back so I could kiss him properly. During our short kiss, his hand went to my stomach rubbing on it lightly as our son kicked underneath the skin.

"Did you tell them?" He asked and it didn't take much to realize what he meant.

"Nope. I thought we should do it together." I said and let my hand join his. "Should we do it now?" He just nodded.

"Leila?" He breathed catching our daughter's attention, who was then in her grandfather's lap. I figured he wanted to tell her first since she was forever asking if she'd get a brother or sister.

"Yes, daddy...?" She asked twinkling her eyes at him.

"Remember when you were asking what the baby will be? Boy or girl?" I asked then fully catching everyone's attention and interest.

"Yeah. Did you find out?" She asked jumping from Percy's lap and coming to place her little hands next to ours on my skin.

"We did and you're having a baby brother." Liam announced and the three people in the room squealed. From the four-year-old, a squeal was understandable, but the 53-year-olds making such a sound? That was weird.

"Hey, hey, we didn't tell you about his name..." I trailed off and the sounds momentarily stopped.

"You've already picked a name?" Leila asked, but seemed a little disappointed. Maybe she'd want a say in her brother's name... When we nodded, she said: "So...? What will it be?" How could that child from disappointed turn to excited in mere seconds was beyond me.

"Your brother's name will be James Perseus Jackson." I answered and looked at Percy who couldn't stop grinning after I announced my son's second name.

"After his grandfathers." Liam added and I could hear the pride in his voice.

"James Jackson... JJ... Jamie... Sounds nice." Leila said nodding.

"So you approve?" Liam asked seriously.

"I do." She answered rubbing my belly. "Welcome to the family, Jamie." She said smiling and place a slight kiss on top of my stomach.

"That's so cute..." Amanda said coming in from the front door with Mike on tow. "How's my niece?" She asked as Leila ran into her arms laughing.

"I'm goodie!" She exclaimed and we laughed. We let them have their little talk and Mike came to sit with us.

"Shouldn't we go help with the last minute preparations?" He asked looking at Liam.

"We probably should. Do you know where the Rodriguez brothers are?" My baby asked placing his head on my shoulder.

"At the pavilion most likely. Arranging the music with the Apollo kids and stuff." Annabeth answered.

"Thanks for the info, mom. Mike, how about we head there right now and lend a hand?" Liam asked and slowly got up making me curse under my breath. I didn't want him to go anywhere yet... Even if he had to...

"Sure man. We actually have to after all." Mike responded and followed my husband's example getting up.

"Hey princess, wanna come with me and uncle Mike down the pavilion?" Liam asked our daughter, who left Amanda's arms, and skipped over to her father that lifted her up on his shoulders. "I'll take that as a yes then. I'll see you later, baby girl." He said and bent down to kiss me before following Mike out of the house leaving me alone with Annabeth, Percy and Amanda.

"So what did you get Clay for his birthday?" Annabeth asked us excitedly clapping in the process.

"Later, aunt Annabeth. Come on, Mel." Amanda said trying to dodge, successfully might I add, the question. She hurriedly got me up and after I lifted my shoulders apologetically at my parents-in-law I was dragged out of the house.

"Where are we going?" I asked straightening my outfit.

"To Alex and Clay. Abby's already there." She answered and I nodded before we slowly made our way to the Rodriguez family house where Ben, Alex and Clay were staying with Clarisse and Chris. But half-way there...

"Melanie..." My mom's voice called from the side making both me and Amanda to stop dead on our track and turn to look at her.

"See you inside Mel. Lady Nyx..." Amanda bellowed taking a bow and headed inside the house.

"Hey mom." I said hugging her tightly.

"How's my little girl?" She asked pulling back.

"I'm fine, mom. Just a little tired." I answered shrugging.

"If you hadn't stayed up watching them sleep, you wouldn't be tired..." My mother scolded lifting her finger up in my face. Did I act like that towards Leila too?

"Sorry, but I couldn't help it. They're so cute together. Especially when they're asleep." I said bringing my hands to my stomach like I had caught myself do may times.

"I know, baby, but you shouldn't exhaust yourself. Think about the baby. Oh and by the way your dad was overjoyed when he found out what Liam suggested last night. He is deeply touched, you know." She said with a sad smile playing on her lips.

"He already knows about the name?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, I told him a few hours ago. Of course he knew about the idea of that as it's been playing in Liam's mind since the first time you were pregnant with Leila, but now that it's official..." She trailed off.

"So he's happy about it...?" I asked hopeful.

"Happy doesn't even describe it. He's all about how his little princess is having another baby and is naming her son after him. I think he's getting on everyone else's nerves." She said giggling and I couldn't help but join in. I knew how annoying my dad could be when he got excited.

"At least I know he's happy about me and Liam." I said trying to force out a smile. I missed my dad and it was no secret. Especially after finding out the truth behind his death, I had started missing him more...

"It helps being part of the supernatural, huh?" She asked nudging me.

"At times like this, it really does." I said as we reached the door. "I really love you mom." I admitted hugging her tightly again. Blame the hormones or the fact that we were talking about my dad, but I was really emotional in that moment.

"I love you too, sweetie. Your dad does too." She said, pulled back and whipped away the tears. "Now go your friends. They need you for the day. I will see you this evening at the party, dear." She said and disappeared like she always does leaving me standing at the porch. I knocked on the door and after a faint "come in" was heard, I pushed the door open before I walked inside to the living room where the birthday boy was sitting on the floor with his two aunts and his mother around him clapping as he showed them his toys. Just like Leila and Joey used to do in that age.

"Hey, Mel. Take a seat." Abby said patting the space on the sofa behind her which was closer to little circle formed by the,.

"Good morning girls. How's the birthday boy?" I asked giving Clay one of his toys.

"As you can see, he's pretty excited." Alex said smiling down at her son, who looked a lot like her with Ben's hair and eyes.

"How about you tell them about your own baby?" Amanda suggested knowing both about the gender and the name of my son.

"Tell us what?" Abby asked, curiosity storming her black eyes.

"You know about our appointment with my OB yesterday, right?" I asked and they nodded. "We found out the baby's sex." I announced.

"And...?" Alex trailed of expectantly.

"We're having a boy. My mom wanted to tell me how amazing it made my dad feel the fact that we'll name the baby after him." I said smiling and knowing Amanda had told them who kept me up. Abby and Alex rushed to my side to hug me while Clay started clapping and laughing even though he had no clue what was happening.

"So his name will be James Jackson?" Abby asked.

"Partly. His full name will be James Perseus Jackson." I answered and Alex, especially, couldn't help but smile.

"I bet dad couldn't keep the grin of his face." She said lifting Clay up and gave him his pacifier.

"Nope. He couldn't." Leila couldn't either." I replied.

"How about we watching a movie of something until we have to go get ready?" Alex suggested and we agreed. Halfway through the film, Clarisse brought Leila and Joey home so that the guys could finish up the last touches to the party and we were forced to change movies. Under Leila's request, we watched Hercules, the animated movie, and I don't think anyone had a problem with that.

When it was time to go home and get ready, I took my daughter's hand and went to Alex's old room, which was used as Leila's room this weekend and where her little blue dress was kept. She had personally asked for it when we had gone shopping the previous week. When she was ready, I let her go downstairs to her grandfather who was also ready and went to Liam's room, where I found him buttoning up his shirt. I just stared a little till he was done.

"Hey baby girl. How do I look?" He asked turning to face me.

"Amazing as always." I sad, kissed him and went to his closet where my own outfit was. A simple and elegant dark blue dress that wouldn't apply any pressure on my stomach so Jamie wouldn't be uncomfortable and wouldn't show the baby bump so much. Ending a little below the knee, strapless with some random silver patterns along the side. It wasn't much, but I still loved it. I changed quickly and went to the mirror to check myself when I both saw and felt Liam's arms sneak to the front and his hands rest on my stomach as I applied some light make-up.

"You're gorgeous, Mel." he said kissing my neck lightly.

"Thank you." I said smiling and turned around in his arms when I finished with the make-up and straightening my hair a little. Despite the little space between us, because of our son, he leaned in a little so he could kiss me. It really helped that he was taller than me.

"Ready to go?" He asked pulling back.

"Not really." I replied and let my hands go from behind his neck to the front to fix the knot of his tie. Once I was done I stole another quick kiss and pulled back saying: "Now, I am."

"Let's go then." He said chuckling and took my hand in his before he grabbed his jacket and went downing where Annabeth, Percy and Leila were waiting. Our little girl skipped over to us.

"You look pretty mommy." She said wrapping her little arms around me as much as she could.

"Thank you, sweetie. How about we go?" I suggested and gave her my hand while Percy and Liam took the presents for Clay. One from us and one from the grandparents. We walked towards the pavilion where instead of the usual tables, there was all the equipment for a playground. The whole pavilion had turned into a large playground and the youngest of kids were already playing.

"Can I go play?" Leila asked tagging on my dress a little.

"Sure you can. Have fun baby." I said and she went to kiss her dad before she was off to play with the other kids.

"We'll go put these in th box and come back. You should go sit at our table." Percy suggested and Annabeth and I nodded before kissing our husbands and they left while we went to our table, where our family was already sitting, plus the Gods related to us. Soon our men joined us as well.

Each of us on the table took a hold of baby Clay for the official happy birthdays. We wished Alex and Ben well for their son's first birthday, called Leila in, ate and then the three daddies took their kids and went to play in the massive playground leaving me, Abby and Alex behind watching them with identical goody grins on our faces.

It was funny seeing them like that. Liam was on his hands and knees with Leila and some other kids she called up on his back crawling around like our little girl wanted. I had seen it happen in our house, but I was always either just her or her and Joey. Never before had I witnessed him carrying about five kids on his back...

The Rodriguez brothers had it easier since Joey and Clay weren't old enough to make them do anything like Leila made her father do. So all they had to do was help their sons down the slide, holding them so them don't fall off and pushing them on the baby swings. Liam, except all that, had to watch Leila as she climbed the little "rock climber", when jumping up and down on the trampoline, sit on the other side of the seesaw and things like that.

When they came back, Liam was obviously exhausted, but the squeals and laughs coming from Leila made him smile despite his state. He let her down and she immediately climbed on my lap telling me everything her daddy did and even though I had seen it, I still acted all surprised and amazed. Liam too his seat next to me again at some point and when Leila finished with her story, she jumped in her father's lap, kissed him on the cheek and snuggled to his side. In that moment, Annabeth and Clarisse brought their grandson's cake, so everyone gathered around our table to sing the never-changing "Happy Birthday" song to Clay, who looked around at the so many people and laughed clapping his little hands from his mother's lap.

At nine, after a good four hours of running around, playing with kids, eating and everything, Leila cuddled up to her father and fell asleep. We stayed there for a couple more hours , just going over the day's events. Liam and I even told the ones that didn't already know about Jamie and I told him about my talk with mom. Everything went quiet and just like we wanted it, so Clays first birthday was a pure success, which of course couldn't make Ben and Alex any happier.

So after a full day, Liam and I took our daughter and went to his old house. Changed and tucked her in, before going to our room and getting changing ourselves. He helped me with the zip of the dress all the while trailing kisses along my neck and back. When we dressed for bed, I lied down on my side of the bed and Liam snuggled behind me bringing his arms to the front and resting his hands on my stomach. It didn't take much time for me to fall asleep like that.

**Sorry for the delay, but the stressing hours and the number of hours we spend out of the house weren't helpful to our update. Hope this pleases you :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	38. A new beginning

**There's a very good excuse as to why this chapter has been delayed for a month. And that's that I didn't want this to end. It's been written for about two weeks, but I couldn't bring myself to type it out or let either Tony or Mike to do it. I guess I didn't want to change the status from In-Progress to Complete. Well now you have it, so... Enjoy?**

**Chapter 38: A new Beginning**

**Liam's POV**

"Daddy..." I heard my almost five-year-old daughter trying to wake me up. When I intentionally didn't budge, she started nudging me and telling me to wake up, but I still didn't a move a single muscle until I abruptly flipped over and she fell in my arms grumbling. "Why did you do that?" She asked pushing her black hair back to reveal her beautiful green eyes.

"Because I wanted a hug from my daughter." I said and hugged her close as she did the same. I looked next to me only to find that Melanie wasn't there. "Where's your mother?"

"Downstairs with aunties, Joey and Clay." She answered resting her head on my chest.

"So they send you to wake me up?" I asked rubbing her back.

"Yap." She simply replied and stood up pointing at me. "You're late!" She yelled and jumped off the bed storming out of the room. I looked at the nightstand in a rush and saw that the squirt was right. I got up, had a shower and got dressed in less than ten minutes in my hurry. I practically ran downstairs where I found my wife, sister, daughter, friends and nephews eating their breakfast calmly. But if I was late why was Amanda still here. That was weird...

"Good morning, honey. Why are you in such a hurry?" Melanie asked raising her eyebrow.

"I'm late and will probably lose my flight." I said and rampaged through whatever was on the table quickly.

"LJ, our plane leaves in two hours." Amanda said looking at me weird.

"No. It's supposed to leave in one." I countered.

"Would I really be here and so calm, if what you said was true?" Amanda asked. She had a point...

"But the plane leaves at 11am, so we'd have to be there by 10 and it's already.." I trailed off trying to lift my sleeve so I could check the time.

"... 9:15am." Abby said raising her eyebrows at me as well. What the hell?

"But the clock in the nightstand..." I said confused and took my jacket off settling down next to my wife.

"Leila, haven't I told you not to mess with you dad's clock for work." Mel said feeding me a bite. That little monster... She got me again.

"Sorry, mommy. Couldn't help it." She said giggling and ran with Joey upstairs to her room probably.

"She really loves to pull pranks on you, doesn't she?" Alex asked looking at me.

"Yeah... I think she's spent a little bit too much time with you." I said scrunching my face.

"Oh come on! I wasn't that bad." She said blushing while Abby and I looked at her in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked taking a sip of my coffee.

"You once made the poor guy think that the camp was under attack." Abby exclaimed and Alex's blush became deeper.

"I was just a kid." She tried to defend herself in vain.

"We didn't say otherwise, but you can't say you weren't as bad when you probably were worse." Amanda stated looking at my sister closely.

"Hey hey, stop it!" Melanie yelled and all four of us, grandchildren of Athena, stopped to look at her. "Both Leila and Alex have taken a liking to fool their fathers and that's the end of it. Understood?" She asked very seriously.

"Yes, ma'am!" We said bringing our right hands to our foreheads to salute her.

"Good. Now get back to your breakfast." She ordered and we complied. An eight-and-a-half-month pregnant Melanie isn't one to be messed with.

"And you two have to go soon or you'll really miss your flight." She said pointing at me and Amanda.

"True." Amanda said and got up while I turned to Melanie. She kissed me lightly and started fixing my tie.

"You never get it right while in a hurry." She said giggling lightly to herself. When she was done, she pulled back to check her work, but when she saw my sad face, she put her hand on my cheek. "It's just a day. You'll be back in no time." She said and kissed me lightly so as to calm me down.

"You know I don't like being away from you." I said pouting and noticed that the girls had given us some privacy by leaving us alone.

"I know, but I'll have your sister, Abby, the kids and the guys with me. I'll be fine." She replied and kept on stroking my cheek. I knelt in front of her and kissed her stomach.

"Promise me you won't do anything reckless or exhaust yourself...?" I wanted to say but it came out as a question.

"I promise. Both me and our son will be alright. Our daughter will make sure of that, don't you think?" She asked and I couldn't help but chuckle. It was true. Leila had taken it upon herself to make sure her mommy wouldn't do anything that would tire her while I wasn't around.

"Yeah... But I'll still be worried." I said and got up helping her up as well, as she just rolled her eyes. She, Abby and the kids escorted me and Amanda out, where we said our final goodbyes for the day. We got our bags in the car, got in and the driver set off for the airport.

**24 hours later**

After six hour in the air, we had finally landed at the LAX. Some would believe that I'd be afraid to go to LA by plane because of Zeus, but I couldn't care less. If he wanted to blast me away, he could do it anytime. Being in his domain didn't mean much. A car was waiting for us at the airport to take us to the hotel we'd be staying and having the meeting in.

Being owners of one of the most profitable architecture firms in the country had its perks, which included a driver, perfect accommodations and all. But even with that, we hadn't been lucky enough to have the other party arrive soon enough to get the meeting started the same day we arrived, so Amanda and I just called our family and kept on talking to them for a couple of hours before they had to go to bed. It was the three hour difference in the middle of course, so they had to. We stayed up to review our presentation and then went to bed. Twenty six hours after our departure from my house, Amanda, our team and I entered the conference room our presentation would soon begin in.

* * *

**Alex's POV (meantime)**

I had been sleeping comfortably in Ben's arms in my brother's guest room, when my little boy decided to wake me up and request to be changed. Of course being a little over one, his request was made by crying, so one of us would have to get up and stop him before anyone awoke. Since Ben had had a much more difficult day than me, I let him keep on with his sleep, while I went to tend to our son. After changing and getting him back to sleep, I returned in my husband's arms, but really shouldn't have expected to have my peace. I heard her light footsteps before I saw the door open and Leila come in.

"Auntie..." She whispered with a sleepy voice.

"Sorry for waking you up honey. Your cousin just needed to get his diaper changed. Go back to sleep Leila." I said sitting up to look at her. She didn't move though, so she must have wanted something else. "What's wrong sweetie?" I asked.

"Mommy needs to go to the hospital. She said she's having the baby." Before she even finished her sentence, I had woken Ben up.

"Ben, go wake the others up as well. Leila, let's go see mommy." I said, picked her up and ran to Mel's and Liam's room, where I found her preparing her suitcase with her hand on her stomach. She looked up and I could see the annoyance in her eyes.

"He just HAD to come now that his father is away on a business trip." She said scrunching her face.

"I know... Just sit down and let me do that." I said and she complied groaning. I could easily guess that another contraction hit her. "How far apart are they?" I asked placing Leila next to her mom and hurriedly finished up with Mel's suitcase.

"I'm not actually counting!" She yelled. "Gods! I don't remember it hurting so damn much!" She yelled again gripping the sheets. Just then Mike, Owen, Abby, Ben and the kids came in.

"Guys, help her in the car and we'll take the bag and the kids." Abby said and I nodded in agreement. Owen put Joey down and Ben gave Clay to Abby, before they gently picked Mel up heading for the car. "Start even before we get outside. Hurry!" She urged them. They just nodded and picked up the pace.

"Why is mommy in so much pain?" Leila asked with a sad face.

"It's just because she's having the baby. Don't you remember how I was a year ago?" I asked. We really needed to distract the kids from everything.

"Yeah, but why is Jamie hurting her? Did I do that too?" She asked gasping. I looked at Abby for help.

"Leila, sweetie, all kids put their mothers through that. But when we look in your eyes for the first time, it really doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that baby in our arms." Great job Abs.. Leila did seem distracted in that moment. "Could you take Joey TV? We'll be right there." She said and our niece nodded before taking her cousin's hand and going downstairs.

"We need to get Liam right now." I said and took my baby back in my arms. He was still asleep thankfully, despite the havoc.

"Already tried. His phone is off. Amanda's too." She replied.

"The rest of the team's?" I asked although I doubted it.

"Switched off too. They've probably already started on the meeting." She said and scooped up the beg so we could go.

"But Abby, if it's almost 11 am here, there it's only 8 am. They couldn't have started a meeting that early, could they?" I asked trying to find something would make Liam's coming in time more possible.

"It's your brother we're talking about. He probably wanted to get things over with as quick as possible so he could come back as soon as possible." Abby said and unfortunately I knew she was right.

"We could Iris message him..." I trailed off. Iris was Ben's grandmother after all...

"Alexandra Brooke Rodriguez! Use your freaking brain! Iris message them while they're in a crowd full of humans. Even with the Mist they'd have lots of explaining to do." Abby yelled a little bit too loud waking Clay up. I glared at her trying to calm the wailing baby in my arms. "I'm sorry for yelling but we can't do anything other than be there for Mel now. Come on." She urged me and we went downstairs only to find Athena, Poseidon, Ares and Iris there sitting with Joey and Leila.

"Don't look at us so shocked. You can't take the kids with you in the hospital so we'll look after them. Go to Melanie." Ares said and came to take Clay from my arms. I was too stunned to move.

"Um... Alex, Abby..? Go!" Our grandmother ordered us and we couldn't do anything but what she said.

We got in Owen's car since they had used ours to take Melanie to the hospital. Abby definitely drove fast, but this time she had outdone herself. Just 15 minutes later we were running past the entrance to the hospital and headed straight for the front desk where we asked about where we could find Melanie and then ran towards that direction. Two floors up, we found our husbands and Mike sitting in the waiting right outside a room where Melanie's screams came from.

"We can't find Liam, Amanda or their team." Mike said titling his phone in front of us.

"Did you tell her that?" Abby asked and got her phone out dialing a number.

"No. They didn't let us in." Owen answered.

"More like she didn't want us in there." Ben said coming to me. "She wants you." he whispered in my ear. "Good luck!" He said before pushing me in the room with the screams.

"Alex!" She yelled at the top of her lungs making everyone in the room cringe. Including me.

"I"m here, Mel." I said, went to stand beside her and also hold her hand. She had a tight grip...

"Have you find him?" She asked calmly after the contraction apparently passed.

"No. They've probably already started the meeting. We're trying though." I said in an attempt to calm her down.

"Damn him..." She said as another contraction came.

* * *

**Three hours later**

**Liam's POV**

"So as you can see, these designs Mrs Di Angelo, our team and I have prepared for you are exactly what you need at the lowest possible cost. Your hotel will have everything other hotel in the area does, maybe even more. All you need to do is sign the deal and construction will begin immediately." I finished my presentation and speech after a good four hours of an endless meeting. After my partners described our designs, it fell upon me to give each and every aspects of our work, pointing out all weaknesses and strengths and generally giving them a good review of whatever was said before about the suggested facilities. And I was ready for questions. "Do you have any questions?" I asked taking a sip of water before straightening my glasses. But before anyone had the chance to talk, there was a knock on the door.

"I'm sorry Mr Jackson. I specifically ordered no one to interrupt you." The manager of the hotel we were having the meeting said getting up to probably scold whoever had the nerve to go against his orders. But whoever knocked on that door didn't wait for us to let them in. The moment _she _stepped in mine and Amanda's eyes went wide.

"I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your important meeting, but Mr Jackson there really is an emergency." Aphrodite said looking straight at me. Now.. When you have the Goddess of Love interrupting one of your meetings you know something's wrong.

"Mr Camden, it's okay. She's my personal assistant. Excuse me for a second." I said and went to the door, where Aphrodite was. "What's wrong? Did anything happen to my girls?" I asked frantic.

"No, but your son decided he wants out early, so Melanie went into labor three hours ago. The guys have been trying to reach you all this time. Where's your cell?" She asked glaring.

"In my pocket, but I always switch it off for meetings." I answered looking away. "Damn it. I need to get to New York fast then." I said mostly to myself, my brain already trying to work something out.

"Oh really? I never would have thought." She mocked me rolling her eyes.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked coming close.

"Liam needs to get back to New York because Melanie's giving birth." Aphrodite explained and Amanda's eyes went wide.

"Then what are you waiting for, goof? Move it." She whispered-yelled and tried to shove me out of the door. "I'll take care of the rest. You've already made an excellent impression on them. Go to your wife!" She said and closed the door behind me and Aphrodite.

"Great... Now, any idea how I'll get back? Before my son is born preferably?" I asked and once again straightened my glasses so I could see her.

"I got one. Let's go out from the back, shall we?" She asked and disappeared.

"I'm guessing I'm the one that has to walk out back then." I said to myself while running towards the back. The people I passed by looked at me as I had a second head or something, but in that moment I couldn't care less. When I reached one of the back entrances I found Aphrodite smiling at me. "How exactly am I gonna get back?" I asked out of breath.

"With the help of your friend of course..." She trailed off as a white, winged stallion came down from the sky. Cloud!

"_Hey smart-ass. Hop on." _Cloud said excitedly.

"Thanks Aphrodite." I said and got on Cloud's back. "You can't possibly imagine how glad I am to see you."

"_I think I have an idea. Now hold on tight. I may be saving you an hour, but it's still a five-hour flight." _He said ascending from the ground.

"Any cut down on time I spend not being there for her is welcome. Thanks Cloud." I replied holding him tight as instructed.

"No problem, LJ." He said and picked up speed

* * *

**5 hours later**

"_Where do you want me to drop you off?"_ Cloud asked when the skyscrapers of New York came to view.

"As close to the hospital as you can. The front door even." I joked.

"_Same hospital with when Leila was born?"_ He asked.

"Yeah. Now could you hurry? My wife's been there for eight hours already." I pleaded.

"_I'm trying man. Hang on." _ He replied and it seemed as if he picked up the speed.

We passed over the streets of Manhattan with incredible speed. The card seemed to pass like a blur underneath us. Little colorful dots on gray lines, straight of curvy it didn't matter. Life was moving forward like those cars on the streets, like time went by as Cloud and I raced against it. Against the time of my son's very first breath, if he hadn't taken it of course. Mel would probably be mad at me if we didn't make it even though it wasn't really my fault. She forced me to go on this trip after all. I just hoped Jamie had stayed in there 'cause in that moment Cloud landed right at the entrance of the building I longed to see there past few hours.

"What about the people?" I asked looking around to check if anyone looked at us weird. No one was.

"_You've been living in their world for way too long. Are you forgetting about the Mist?" _He asked me dumbfounded. Before I could answer... _"Go. Your wife awaits..."_ he urged me.

"Thanks Cloud. You're a life savior." I said patting his mane as I remembered the time he saved me from certain death when I fell off that Hecatonchir ten years ago.

"_No kidding. Go!" _He yelled and I did.

Dressed as formally as ever, I ran in that hospital. My tie found itself hanging over my shoulder from the speed I was going. The front desk of the second floor was my destination. But when I reached the appropriate floor I didn't need any directions to my wife's whereabouts. Her screams of pain gave away her exact location. I ran into that room, faintly realizing I had passed by my friends sitting outside, before I was right by Melanie's side... As I should be.

"Liam..." She whispered calmly before screaming again.

"I'm here baby girl." I said and kissed her sweaty forehead before my hand found its way into hers and let her squeeze as much as she needed.

"How did you get here? Who told you?" Alex asked pretty surprised to see me.

"Aphrodite told me and Cloud brought me." I said never averting my eyes from my beautiful wife. The only time I did was when I stole a glance at George, who smiled at me and gave me a thumbs-up sign before going back to his work. "You're doing fine, Mel. Keep going." I encouraged her and caught a glimpse of my sister leaving the room, so Melanie and I were left alone with the doctors.

"Just like Liam said: Keep going Mel. You have no reason to fight it anymore. Your husband's here." George instructed and Melanie nodded. The pressure on my hand multiplied. She kinda sat up and the pushing began. When she started screaming, I turned her head to me with my free hand and kept it there. Time seemed minimal in that moment. We kept looking in each other's eyes while she was gritting her teeth so as not to scream, which made her fave turn red and we waited... And waited... And waited... Till that miraculous moment we heard our son's cry of life filling that room and her features softened. She laid back. I kissed her. George gave us our son. Even in his bloody state, his resemblance to his grandfather and Melanie's dad was incredible.

James Perseus Jackson ha just entered our lives and just like when Leila was born, I turned to Melanie and whispered in her ear: _**"A new beginning."**_

**So guys... this is the end of our little two-piece story. Much loved and at times difficult to write, but it was all great. Your support was also incredible. If we exclude that flamer, everything else you guys said was so heart-warming. Calling us great authors, adding us (well me, but basically both) to your favourite authors list, our stories to your favourite and giving us a total of 861 reviews for both stories. You're all amazing. Both the ones that have been reviewing and talking to us and the ones that just keep reading these stories increasing the hit-and-visitor traffic. Thank you all. **

**Now.. on second note, there's already a pretty good idea in my mind (good according to me of course), the first chapter of which will soon be written. Also, I would like to suggest the story of one of the many friends we got because of this.**_XxVampire AcexX_ **and his story **_"A life to remember"_**. It's still early for it, but it has good prospect to be great. So check it out if you want. Well... bye... for now... :)**

**Catherine & Tony P.**


	39. AN New story

**Hello guys! Sorry if you thought this was a new chapter, but i just thought it'd be nice to tell you (if you're interested) to read the first chapter of the story i just posted. Read the summary of it and you'll know what it is about. **

**Thanks for your time**

**Catherine P.  
**


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